Pasta, oh how I love thee. But after our quality time together, I do not like it when you make me feel like I’ve eaten a brick. The way you and your carbs sit in my stomach makes me feel bad about myself, and I don’t want to feel bad about myself–or you! So I want to thank you for welcoming into your bowl of goodness some healthy stuff to mix with those bites of al dente goodness.
Oh, and thanks to Food & Wine for the recipe that helped get us two crazy kids together. Such a matchmaker, they are. Welcome to the permanent recipe file, Orecchiette BBS (Bacon, Black Eyed Peas & Spinach).
I love pasta. I love pasta of all shapes, sizes, flavors, colors, textures–love it all. But, as with anything in life, all in moderation, right? And as I’m trying (or as my father would say, “Yes! You’re very trying!”) to eat healthier, I don’t want to completely deprive myself of the things I love most. So when I came across this recipe in a recent month of Food & Wine, I knew this could be THE one. This dish is a perfect mix of splurge and healthy with the fiber from the beans, the vitamins in the vegetables, and then of course the pasta and cheese (um, hello, it’s still got to please my palate!). And because I can never leave well enough alone, I threw in some mushrooms to add a little different texture to the dish.
Of course, no good Italian dish should go without wine. I suggest serving it with a bright, red wine like a Sangiovese or Barbera. Now that’s a party in your mouth.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8 people | 45 minutes |
|
|
|
|
The ease of the dish makes it perfect for a weeknight, but the presentation of the layered ingredients is pretty enough for company. Other vegetables that you may have on hand could easily be incorporated into this dish. I love recipes like this that allow me to improvise and still come out the other side with something delicious.
|
- 1/2 lb. bacon, sliced into 1/4" slices
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 8 oz. container cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups black eyed peas (drained if canned; thawed if from frozen)
- 8 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 lb. dried orecchiette pasta
- 8 oz. baby spinach
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving
- Get those ingredients out and ready to go. I had all of this in the pantry or fridge, so it was an easy dish to toss together on a weeknight.
- In medium skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring until crisp, about 7 minutes. Transfer to paper towel to drain excess fat, leaving 2 tbsp. of fat in the skillet.
- Heat the olive oil in the bacon fat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Scrape garlic into bottom of serving bowl.
- Add black eyed peas to pan and saute just until warm, about 7 minutes. Pour peas into serving dish over garlic & pepper oil; top with spinach.
- Add tomatoes, mushrooms and balsamic vinegar to pan. Add generous pinch of salt and black pepper and toss well.
- Pour tomato mixture over spinach and black eyed peas.
- Heat large pan of salted water until boiling. Add orecchiette and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes. Drain well. Pour pasta over top of ingredients in serving dish.
- Toss pasta with all other ingredients and top with cheese. Serve and enjoy!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, I love to eat it.
What a great way to get fiber and veggies into a pasta dish!
I haven’t had black eyed peas in a long time. I grew up eating them, but my husband isn’t a fan. Maybe I will try this recipe out on him. Who can resist bacon?
I love pasta too and I love the sound of this!
Did someone say bacon? I love bacon and I love black eyed peas and of course who doesn’t love pasta so this recipe looks like a clear winner to me. I am definitely trying this soon. 🙂
Am a relatively new convert to b-e peas, and I ADORE them! I happen to have bacon in the fridge, so I know what needs to happen now.
What a great combination of flavors, and of course bacon makes everything better! 🙂
That looks delish! Which do you prefer? Frozen BEP’s or canned?
In this case, I like the canned. I find that they don’t break down as much as the frozen/dethawed ones might. And it’s one less step to worry about when I’m throwing this together! :o) But both would work fine.