Since I get so many food wishes for pasta recipes, I figured
I would give it a go. Plus, as luck would have it, I had some arugula in the
fridge just begging to be used. I knew that this combination would taste great,
but I wasn’t prepared for just how great.
I decided to use crème fraiche as the main sauce ingredient,
and it worked beautifully. It was just rich enough, and the fermented cream’s
subtle nuttiness was an excellent foil for the smoky meat, sweet tomatoes, and
bitter greens. As I mentioned in the video, crème fraiche is pretty easy to
find, but of course we’ll encourage you to follow this link and make your own.
If you can’t find or make some, just use heavy cream along
with a squeeze of lemon juice to mimic that essential tanginess. Thank
you Mardi (and Twitter) for the inspiration, and if you’re looking for a quick,
easy, and very summery pasta idea, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 portions:
1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz bacon
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp lemon zest
2/3 cup crème fraiche
2 cups halved cheery tomatoes
3-4 cups roughly chopped arugula or other salad greens
32 comments:
This looks wonderful JOhn and I have often used crème fraîche for pasta sauces - btw did you see mine with the "hidden" ingredient?
http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/2013/06/blt-pasta/
I'll have a go at your recipe now that I am in France with no access to my hidden ingredient but a lot of access to crème fraîche...
Nice one and thanks for the shoutout!
Cheery tomatoes?
Cheery tomatoes?
Beautiful. Just Beautiful. Thanks, Chef John for a great video.
BTW, the ingredients list "Cheery" tomatoes, which I absolutely endorse and would never change. Who wants to eat sad, grumpy old tomatoes.
Chef John,
I have only the one question, would the dish hold together well enough over night in the refrigerator so it could be served the next day?
Greetings Chef!
I'm a thinkin' 'dat a smidgen of anchovy paste might possibly add a salacious layer of flavor to this pasta. 'Cause wid'out it, 'der ain't no subtle yet enticing fishy flavor to make one's toes wanna' curl.
I got's to go! I'ma late for my english grammer class. Thanks! You're 'da best!
You read my mind. It's so hot here, I've been looking for a light summer time meal. This looks perfect. I love this pasta. I'll be making it tonight. Another winner, no doubt. Thanks again Chef John!
Any alternative for Creme fraiche Chef?
Yes, check the last paragraph!
SV, yer grammar is just fine. ;)
Hey Chef John! I'd like to ask you a question about another recipe, but I wanted to make sure that you could actually see the question, so I'm asking it here. Remember the pad-thai popcorn recipe? I'd like to know if I can use a Thai Fish Sauce which uses anchovies. And what can I use as a substitute for corn syrup? I searched almost every shop in my town, and a few in my country's capital, but I couldn't find it anywhere, and I don't want to leave the other ingredients to waste waiting for a delivery of corn syrup from the US. Thanks!
Any fish sauce would work! Can't answer corn syrup question, just not sure. I'd guess some type of heavy simple sugar syrup would work, but never tried. I'm sure there are ways if you google to get close.
This was so perfect, my boyfriend ate like 2 huuuge portions of this - love our "bacon breakfast" every weekend, and this is the perfect addition for a weeknight dinner after a long, hard workday :) thank you so much!!!
Fun cowboy prep cook trick for slicing cherry tomatoes:
1. With your off hand, gently hold down as many cherry tomatoes on the cutting board as you can fit underneath.
2. Slice in half with a serrated bread knife, moving horizontally underneath your off hand, moving from fingertips to the wrist.
With a little practice you'll be able to halve a pint of cherry tomatoes in a jiffy!
I've been making a variation of this for years but it uses Ranch Dressing...never been a fan! Love your fresh take!
Kathi @laughingspatula.com
I've been making a variation of this for years but it uses Ranch Dressing...never been a fan! Love your fresh take!
Kathi @laughingspatula.com
Hi Chef John!
That looks yummy! I'm definitely going to try this recipe. My husband doesn't eat a lot of bread, but he loves pasta; this he'd eat in a flash! Thanks for sharing! :)
I just made this and it came out great. My picky three year old who doesn't like arugula or tomatoes ate it! Of course, she loves bacon, so that may have something to do with it. I didn't have creme fraiche, so I used 1/3 c heavy cream and 1/3 c sour cream and it came out very nice. Thanks Chef John for sharing such an easy and yummy recipe! I hope you had a nice birthday!
Do i measure 2 cups raw macaroni or cooked macaroni?
Pasta measurements are always given as raw.
Chef John,
If I can't find cultured buttermilk I plan on using the heavy cream/squeeze of lemon trick. Any idea on how much heavy cream I should use?
Also, back to the cultured buttermilk thing...I've been to a couple of stores and all I can find is 1% buttermilk. Bacterial culture is listed under the ingredients, but, nowhere else on the packaging. Was that cultured buttermilk?? I just figured it would be more prominently labeled if it were cultured vs. regular buttermilk.
Cheers!
Made this today with bacon I smoked over the weekend. Very very good! I will have to make this more often.
Can you use yogurt as a substitute?
This and the salmon in parchment are at the top of my favorites list of Chef John's recipes. I used crema mexicana instead of creme fraiche and it turned out so wonderful. Thanks Chef John, and keep up the good work!
Is this also good cold?
Would this be good cold for a picnic?
This was really tasty. I didn't have creme fraiche, but I decided to add a splash of sherry to heavy cream (as well as the lemon) to try to mimic the nuttiness & it worked well.
I just tried this recipe and it turned out great, If I say so myself. I look forward to trying something new. Oh! before I go, I made the creme fraiche two days ago. It all came together nicely. Thanks Cynthia
We loved this recipe. The lemon zest was a nice addition and really brightened up the flavor. And it was a good use of my garden cherry tomatoes. I had to substitute sour cream for the creme fraiche, but I looked at your video and will be shopping for uncultured buttermilk tomorrow so that I can keep my own creme fraiche on hand. Thanks!
Hi chef John, We like the way you entertain us
We have tried some of your dishes
Already and there delicious thank
You for sharing.
2:31 You shouldn't use mayonnaise in this dish, but you can in a pasta salad. I'd rather use Miracle Whip on my pasta salad.
I bet this would be good with avocado chunks added at the end.
You're wasting perfectly good bacon fat! It's worth draining into a jar, it is the fat of choice for cooking greens, great for frittatas, hash browns, etc. Don't waste bacon flavor!
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