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Linguine with bacon, goat cheese and sugar snap peas?  I have officially decided that this is my new favorite spring recipe.  Because if for no other reason, I simply love saying “sugar snaps.”  There’s something so, well, spring-like about how that sounds…full of sparkle and possibilities, just like spring!  And if you add a little bacon to the equation….do I really need to say more?

Of course I need to say more.  I always need to say more.

One of the additional things I need to say about this fun and fast recipe involves those things that look like breadcrumbs on the top of the pasta.  Sure, they look like plain old breadcrumbs, but they are so very much more.  There’s actually not a single breadcrumb involved…nope, those are pecans that have been pulverized for a few seconds in your food processor and then sauteed in the same skillet that you cooked the bacon.  That’s right…pecan crumbs cooked in bacon.  Now I do love a pasta dish topped with breadcrumbs, but I could get used to pecan crumbs cooked in bacon pretty dang fast.

The other thing I need to say about this pasta dish is how wonderfully all those taste sensations work together.  The salty bacon, the creamy goat cheese and the sweetness of the sugar snaps…all I can say is, you really need to make sure you are getting a little of all three as you twirl each bite of pasta around your fork.  Close your eyes and chew slowly.  You’ll see what I mean.

And with that, I’ll pipe down and let you make this one!

Print [1]
Linguine with Bacon, Goat Cheese and Sugar Snap Peas

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup pecans
2 tablespoons coarse salt
8 ounces linguine
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
8 ounces crumbled goat cheese at room temperature

Directions

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat until it is crispy. Scoop bacon out of the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the bacon grease. Drain on paper towels.
2. Add pecans to the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Scoop those out of the pan, put in food processor and pulse a few times until they resemble crumbs.
3. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add linguine.
4. When linguine is 2-3 minutes from being done, add the sugar snap peas. Cook until linguine is done and drain.
5. Transfer linguine and peas to a large bowl. Add bacon, scallions, olive oil and lemon zest and toss. Top with cheese and ground pecan crumbs.

Recipe slightly adapted from Taste of the South [3]

Still Hungry?

Beef Stir-Fry with Sugar Snap Peas [4], from Framed Cooks

Sugar Snap Salad, [5] from Bon Appetit

Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Sandwiches [6], from Leite’s Culinaria

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Article printed from Framed Cooks: http://www.framedcooks.com