Bacon and Spinach Bow Ties


5 of 5 (3)
member ratings
Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 4
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 325.3
  • Total Fat: 8.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 7.4 mg
  • Sodium: 175.8 mg
  • Total Carbs: 47.9 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 3.3 g
  • Protein: 12.0 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Bacon and Spinach Bow Ties calories by ingredient


Introduction

This flavorful dish will satisfy your bacon craving while keeping down the calories. It's sophisticated Italian charm is perfect for a double date or for those of us who tend to go overboard on the meat in our diets. This flavorful dish will satisfy your bacon craving while keeping down the calories. It's sophisticated Italian charm is perfect for a double date or for those of us who tend to go overboard on the meat in our diets.
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients

    4 slices of bacon
    Thin slices work the best. Go for something simple: no fancy flavors here or it won't turn out right.

    1 tbl extra virgin olive oil

    1 small onion, sliced thin
    Choose the smallest sweet onion you can get. Alternatively you can use all shallots, but you'll need 2-3 fairly large ones.

    1 small shallot, sliced thin

    1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

    1 cup of fresh mushrooms, sliced
    Button, baby portobello, or cremini work the best, but you can use whatever you have handy.

    coarse ground black pepper
    I use about a tablespoon, but start small and work your way up.

    2 tbls finely grated Parmesan cheese
    Romano or other fine Italian grating cheese can be used, but the grate should be as fine and powdery as possible so that the majority of the cheese melts and dissolves fairly instantly.

    4 cups of fresh spinach leaves
    Other greens can be substituted if you are familiar with the greens that are used in Italian cuisine.

    4 fl oz white wine
    I prefer pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc for Italian food, but any will do. Be sure to taste it first: never cook with a wine you wouldn't want to drink as the flavor will only intensify.

    4 servings of cooked pasta
    I prefer bow ties or farfalle as I call them. The nutritional information given is for Barilla Bow Tie pasta, but any type can be substituted. Try whole grain pasta or Barilla Plus for even better nutrition.

Directions

Start your pasta and be sure to use a timer. It is easy to overcook pasta when you are concentrating on the rest of the dish. The bacon should not be crisp.

Cook the bacon in a large flat skillet with high sides, tearing the pieces apart as you cook it. Remove the pieces with tongs and lay them on paper towels to drain. Leave the drippings in the pan.

Add the olive oil, onions, shallots, garlic, and mushrooms to the pan and cook them over medium heat nearly to the point where they are done.

Increase the heat to high and return the bacon to the pan and add the pepper to taste and the Parmesan cheese stirring the mixture about so that the cheese is integrated fairly well.

Add the spinach leaves on top of the mixture in the pan, but do not stir at this point. Then carefully add the wine to the pan. The wine may spatter some, but the spinach should absorb most of this.

Reduce to low heat and stir for a short while so that the spinach leaves can wilt in the steam from the wine.

Serve over cooked pasta with a glass of white wine and a vibrant citrus salad.

serves 4

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JOPPERM2.

Member Ratings For This Recipe


  • no profile photo

    Incredible!
    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
    I used turkey bacon, finally got some spinach. DH says this is a keeper. I made it in my wok. Made a great weeknight meal along with grilled pork loin. I had to use PAM spray because I used turkey bacon. - 9/12/10


  • no profile photo

    Incredible!
    Definitely a keeper! This was great, I used regular bacon and added a bit of the pasta water to the veggies. We'll be making this one often! - 2/10/11


  • no profile photo

    Incredible!
    Wow- this was delicious! And I didn't even use the onion and shallot, but to me, this tasted restaurant-quality good. Like the other reviewer, I also used turkey bacon. I'm very glad to have found this recipe! - 12/24/10