Spring Pasta with Bacon and Poached Egg

• Meat

  • 1 lb Bacon

• Produce

  • 1 1/2 lbs Asparagus
  • 1 Lemon, zest and juice from
  • 1/4 cup Parsley
  • 1 cup Peas, fresh or frozen

• Refrigerated

  • 4 Eggs

• Pasta & Grains

  • 1 lb Barilla spaghetti, Whole Grain

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 tsp Pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Found on tasteslovely.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon, sliced ½ thick
• 4 eggs*
• 1 pound Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti
• 1.5 pounds asparagus, hard ends removed and chopped into 1 chunks
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• zest and juice from 1 lemon
• ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• In a dutch oven (or large skillet), cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
• While the bacon is cooking, fill a large, tall sided skillet with 2 of water. Heat over medium heat. Line a plate with paper towels. As soon as the bottom of the pan gets small bubbles on it, crack each egg into a small bowl, and slowly pour each egg into the water. (If your egg isnt very fresh, the whites may start to spread, gently use your spoon to swirl the water around the egg, and nudge the whites together.) Let the egg sit in the water for about 30 seconds, until it is *just* starting to turn white on the bottom. Then, use a spoon and gently flip it over in the water. Continue to cook for another 3 or 3.5 minutes. You will know the egg is done when you lift it out of the water with a slotted spoon and the whites are set, but the center is still jiggly. Transfer the poached eggs to the paper towel lined plate to drain the water. Set aside.
• Start boiling the water, and cook the pasta according to manufacturers instructions.
• When the bacon is crispy, transfer the bacon to another paper towel lined plate to drain. Pour all the bacon fat into a bowl.
• Return 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat back to the dutch oven and continue to heat the dutch oven over medium heat. Add the asparagus, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes until the asparagus is crisp tender, stirring occasionally. Add in the peas and cook another 1-2 minutes until the peas are warmed. Turn the heat to low. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice.
• When the pasta is done cooking, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta, and transfer the pasta to the dutch oven with the asparagus and peas. Add in ½ cup pasta water, the cooked bacon, and the parsley. Toss the pasta together. Add more pasta water if necessary. Taste for salt and pepper, add more if desired.
• Serve the pasta warm, topped with a poached egg.