Bow Tie Pasta With Bacon Pesto

This was a stunning success. The resulting pesto was meatier than conventional recipes, but not heavy in the way a meat sauce is. And as it does with Parmesan, the herby tasta of the basil cuts through the fatty bacon. This pesto is delicious tossed with pasta, but it's also great smeared onto slices of sourdough bread, topped with tomato and a slab of fresh mozzarella, then briefly broiled.,

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 6  slices  thick-cut bacon (preferably smoked)
• 12  ounces farfalle pasta
• 2 1⁄2 cups fresh basil
• 1⁄4 cup pine nuts
• 3  garlic cloves
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
•  salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1  tomatoes, seeded and diced

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crisp, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer bacon to paper towels and drain well. Let bacon cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water; then drain pasta, return to the pot and set aside.
3. In a food processor, combine bacon, basil, pine nuts and garlic. Pulse until well chopped.
4. Then with processor running, drizzle in olive oil until ingredients form a thick paste.
5. Stop processor and scrape sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Season with salt and pepper, then pulse again to blend.
6. Add pesto to pasta and toss well. Add just a bit ot the pasta cooking water and toss again. Serve topped with diced tomato.