This simple pasta dish makes brilliant use of some grape tomatoes I have that are beginning to shrivel (they’re sweetest at that point).  The dish has a nice balance of smokiness from the bacon, sweetness from the tomatoes, and a nice green flavor from the spinach.  It’s quick and potentially an entire meal in one dish.

If you have your spinach already boiled, squeezed and chopped, you can easily assemble this dish in the time that it takes for the pasta to cook.

Fettucine with Bacon, Spinach and Grape Tomato

Serves 2

1/2 lb dried fettucine

10-oz. bag fresh spinach, blanched, cooled, squeezed dry, then chopped (or a box of frozen spinach, thawed)

4 slices of bacon, diced into 1/2″ pieces

1/2 a small onion

1/2 pt  grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

4 tbls olive oil + 1 tbl for drizzling

salt and black pepper to taste

parmiggiano cheese for sprinkling

While fettucine are boiling, saute onion and bacon on low heat for about 3 minutes.  Add tomatoes and continue sauteing for about 3 minutes.  Add spinach and saute until pasta is ready.

Toss pasta into skillet with the bacon mixture and add a couple of tablespoons of pasta water.  Saute for a minute, then turn off heat.  Drizzle on a little extra-virgin olive oil, some black pepper and pecorino cheese.