The Art of Making Entomato and Bacon Pasta: A Step-by-Step Guide

Entomato and bacon pasta is one of my favorite dishes, originating from Amatrochana, where they use the cheek of pork. To make this dish, I start by cooking the bacon until it's nice and crispy. Instead of cutting it into long pieces like you would for breakfast, I cut it into shorter pieces to ensure even cooking.

The key to rendering the fat out of the bacon is to go low and slow. This allows me to get the best possible flavor out of the bacon, which will be part of the sauce we're about to make. To render the fat, I cook the bacon until it's crispy, then let it cool slightly before adding a little bit of olive oil to enhance the flavor.

Next, I chop up some red onions and garlic using my food processor. It's essential to use fresh ingredients, regardless of what you want to achieve with your dish. In this case, I'm making entomato and bacon pasta, so I need to make sure all the components are prepared accordingly.

As I continue preparing the dish, I need to hit it with a little bit of red chili flake for an added kick. This is where cooking by the ingredients available becomes crucial. If I want to create that perfect tomato sauce, I shouldn't use Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon if my roma tomatoes aren't ripe and flavorful.

I should be aware of the quality of my ingredients, especially when it comes to pasta. Grape pasta is a must-have for this dish because it provides an artisanal look and texture. Air-dried pasta that has been spooned out and looks a little bit older than usual adds depth to the dish. While it may cost more than other types of pasta, it's worth every penny.

Once I have all my ingredients ready, I combine them in the bowl. I mix everything together gently so as not to disturb the delicate balance of flavors in the sauce. As I add the basil and green onions, I can already smell how good this dish is going to be. The combination of fresh tomato, crispy bacon, and vibrant basil is a match made in heaven.

Now that we have our ingredients ready, let's move on to the cooking process. First, I heat some olive oil in the pan over low heat. Next, I add the chopped red onions and cook until they're translucent and fragrant. After that, I add the minced garlic and stir well to combine with the onions.

With the onions and garlic cooked, it's time to add the bacon pieces. Since we've already rendered most of the fat out of the bacon earlier, there will be a bit left in the pan. That's okay; it adds flavor to our sauce. Now, all I need to do is deglaze the bottom of the pan with some Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, pulling off any stuck bits and adding more flavor to the dish.

In the meantime, while that deglazes, I'll get my pasta cooked according to the package instructions. It's essential to cook it properly so it can complement our sauce. Once the pasta is done, I drain it in a colander and return it to the pot, ensuring it stays warm until we're ready to serve.

As I assemble the dish, I take care not to disturb the delicate balance of flavors in the sauce. Adding too much or too little of anything can throw off the entire dish. With everything combined, our entomato and bacon pasta is finally complete. And let me tell you, it's absolutely delicious! The combination of fresh tomato, crispy bacon, and vibrant basil creates a truly unforgettable culinary experience.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: entomato and bacon pasta it comes from one of my favorite dishes amatrochana and that's when you use the konjali they use the cheek of the pork low and slow on the bacon what i did is i cook this bacon down and want it to be nice and crispy and i cut it ahead of time versus doing it in the long pieces because when you do it in the long pieces like you're doing for breakfast you have a tendency that certain areas don't get cooked as far as the other the key here is to go low and slow in rendering what we want to do is render the fat out of that bacon the best we can and that's actually going to be part of the sauce we're actually going to cook with that there's a little residual in there i need to hit it with a little bit of olive oil uh the red onions that i chopped up the garlic that i did in the food processor and then a little red chili flake okay let's go shopping i need uh basil green onions parm remember you gotta cook the dish based upon the ingredients available not based upon what you want to eat so you could say gosh i want to have that bacon tomato pasta the guy makes well if the roma tomatoes aren't looking great and they're not luscious and beautiful and ripe don't make the dish hit it with a little uh sonoma county cab now what that's going to do is deglaze the bottom of that pan pull some flavor off but in the meantime while that deglazes i got to get this pasta off and the second most important part of this great pasta grape pasta is the foundation to this dish what i want you to think about when it comes to pasta i'm not saying great pasta by the dollar amount i'm saying by the by the look we want to get the pasta spoon that's been air dried so the pasta looks a little bit more artisan a little bit more crusty and old and and it usually does cost a little bit more it's worth every penny okay now mix this around a little bit not too much because there's not not a ton of sauce all i need to do is get it over but look how nice and vibrant green that uh that basil is in there oh that's beautiful so in the bowl smells so good really good pasta really good bacon fresh tomato goes a long way nice compliment youtomato and bacon pasta it comes from one of my favorite dishes amatrochana and that's when you use the konjali they use the cheek of the pork low and slow on the bacon what i did is i cook this bacon down and want it to be nice and crispy and i cut it ahead of time versus doing it in the long pieces because when you do it in the long pieces like you're doing for breakfast you have a tendency that certain areas don't get cooked as far as the other the key here is to go low and slow in rendering what we want to do is render the fat out of that bacon the best we can and that's actually going to be part of the sauce we're actually going to cook with that there's a little residual in there i need to hit it with a little bit of olive oil uh the red onions that i chopped up the garlic that i did in the food processor and then a little red chili flake okay let's go shopping i need uh basil green onions parm remember you gotta cook the dish based upon the ingredients available not based upon what you want to eat so you could say gosh i want to have that bacon tomato pasta the guy makes well if the roma tomatoes aren't looking great and they're not luscious and beautiful and ripe don't make the dish hit it with a little uh sonoma county cab now what that's going to do is deglaze the bottom of that pan pull some flavor off but in the meantime while that deglazes i got to get this pasta off and the second most important part of this great pasta grape pasta is the foundation to this dish what i want you to think about when it comes to pasta i'm not saying great pasta by the dollar amount i'm saying by the by the look we want to get the pasta spoon that's been air dried so the pasta looks a little bit more artisan a little bit more crusty and old and and it usually does cost a little bit more it's worth every penny okay now mix this around a little bit not too much because there's not not a ton of sauce all i need to do is get it over but look how nice and vibrant green that uh that basil is in there oh that's beautiful so in the bowl smells so good really good pasta really good bacon fresh tomato goes a long way nice compliment you\n"