We are in the midst of spring season here in Ohio. Spring in Ohio has felt a lot like fall the last few days. We had some days filled with warmth and sunshine last week before transitioning to cooler days reminiscent of fall this week. I’ve found myself cooking a lot, baking a ton, and exchanging recipes and ideas with family, friends, and friends of friends in between. There has been a surge of recipes shared online for simple meals featuring as little ingredients as possible. Last month, dalgona coffee was popping up on social media everywhere. With all of the rave reviews for the drink, I found myself making one too many cups of dalgona coffee in the morning. I, of course, had to test out different spins to the drink by making a minty mocha version. This week, I came across a recipe for Dole Whip, a classic dessert served at Disney parks. I’ve never had it before, but I was intrigued and bookmarked the recipe to try out once I’m able to stop by the local supermarket. I’ve been trying to use up the ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator before heading to the local supermarket to restock on produce, protein, and pantry items. My ingredients in each of these categories are dwindling, which means a trip to the grocery store in the near future is inevitable. The last couple of times I stopped by the local supermarket, I noticed a lot of essential pantry ingredients out of stock. Fortunately, I can still count on getting access to fresh produce. The spring season is my favorite time of the year to toss together lighter pastas for a quick meal throughout the week. Earlier this week, I played around with throwing together a simple pasta featuring seasonal produce. My minty Asiago, bacon, and greens pasta features fresh mint and arugula with pieces of bacon, a handful of frozen peas, and a couple ounces of Asiago cheese left over from when I made soft pretzels. I had purchased some mint almost three weeks ago and have been able to extend the shelf life of the mint by keeping it stored in a zipped-up storage bag filled with some water. Storing the mint on the side door storage area probably helped a lot. When I pulled out a couple sprigs of mint to use for this pasta dish, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the mint maintained its freshness, body, and integrity even after almost three weeks. Mint is a great herb to toss into pastas during the spring season because of its freshness and brightness. It adds a pop of color and flavor to any dish it touches. My minty Asiago, Bacon, and Greens pasta combines my favorite aspects of cacio e pepe, carbonara, and spring flavors. Best of all, my pasta dish takes almost no time to pull together and makes for a filling, light spring meal.
For the minty Asiago, bacon, and greens fettuccine:
· 6 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
· 3 slices of thick cut bacon, cut into small pieces
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· 2-3 ounces Asiago cheese, grated
· ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ¼ cup frozen green peas
· 2 ounces fresh arugula
· 3 sprigs mint, stems removed
Directions:
1) Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Reserve about ¼ cup of pasta water. Drain the rest of the pasta water.
2) As the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook until desired crispiness, about 5-10 minutes. Drain some of the excess fat rendered from the bacon.
3) When the pasta is done cooking, toss the pasta into the skillet with the cooked bacon. Sprinkle in the kosher salt. Fold in the Asiago cheese and freshly cracked black pepper. Add the green peas. Pour in the reserved pasta water. Toss the pasta a few more times. Top with fresh arugula and mint.
Takeaways: I used fettuccine pasta, but any pasta can be used in its place. The pasta also works very well with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in place of Asiago cheese. For another simple spring pasta dish, check out my cacio e pepe rigatoni with bacon and arugula.