Frugal Family Feast! Spaghetti Pomodoro with Basil and Bacon

Pasta is a staple in many households, and with good reason. It’s filling, versatile, affordable, and fast.

Whether you usually use bottled sauce or are looking for a new homemade recipe, you’re going to love Spaghetti Pomodoro with basil and bacon.

Chef Jorge Montes, owner and executive chef of Roho Kitchen, shared his recipe with Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson. Watch this video and read on for the recipe.

Great deal for about $14! The layers of flavor start with garlic and olive oil, adding San Marzano tomatoes, folding in basil and extra-virgin olive oil, and finishing with bacon.

San Marzano tomatoes are a delicious variety of Roma tomatoes and can be found in many regular grocery stores. If you can’t readily get them, try a gourmet store or online retailer. They are absolutely worth the trouble. Chef Jorge used whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes and crushed them a little by hand before placing them in the pan.

Baking the bacon in the oven gives it a wonderful crispness, making it easy to crumble and sprinkle on the pasta. You can use a sheet pan lined with parchment, then place the cooked bacon on some paper towel to drain off the excess fat. Or place a cookie rack on the sheet to allow the fat to drain while it cooks. You may even find cooking bacon in the oven becomes your preferred way to prepare it.

This is a recipe you can throw together easily and quickly, especially on hectic weeknights.

A chef’s trick for making the flavors meld is to add freshly-cooked pasta to the sauce, stir it around, and let it bathe in that garlicky goodness for a few minutes before you plate it. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top.

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Pomodoro with Bacon and Basil – Courtesy of Chef Jorge Montes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

32 oz of canned tomatoes (San Marzano), hand-crushed and seeds removed

8 garlic cloves, sliced thin

10 basil leaves, hand-torn to small pieces

2 oz olive oil

1 oz extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

8 oz. bacon

1 lb. dry spaghetti pasta

Preparation:

• In a large pot, heat up the olive oil and brown the garlic.
• Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper.
• Fold in the basil and extra virgin olive oil and set aside.
• Place bacon in baking trays and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until crisp
• Remove bacon from the pan and transfer to some paper towel to drain the fat
• Bring a large pot of water to boil with a few pinches of salt
• Drop the spaghetti in the pot and boil until al dente
• Drain the pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl
• Pour the warm pomodoro sauce over and crumble the bacon on top

When you try it, go to our Facebook page and tell us how you like it!