Pasta with crisp bacon, glazed sunflower seeds, asparagues and thyme breadcrumb sprinkle

That's one long title for a dish - well it just describes the contents really and it's a simple recipe and tastes good as well in my opinion. My husband liked it as well but then again he loves everything that has the word bacon written all over it...

The recipe says to use basil but we are not that fond of basil so I just left it out, but if you like it, you should try it as well. I spoke to Carina after they had eaten and they were not too thrilled about this dish, but then again, she has some difficulties acquiring some of the ingredients for the recipes and that makes it a whole different experience for her.

However I would love to share this lovely recipe with you and for four people you'll need:

100 grams sliced bacon

Toasted glaced sunflower seeds

4 tablespoons sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 bundle of fresh asparagus

Dressing

4 tablespoons cold pressed rapeseed oil

1 clove grated garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt and pepper

Thyme breadcrumb sprinkle

½ dl breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons finely chopped thyme

salt flakes

500 grams fresh spinach pasta

1 pot of fresh basil

Fry the bacon in a skillet until it is crisp and golden. Leave the slices on a piece of kitchen towel to get rid of the excess fat.

Toast the sunflower seeds on a dry skillet over medium heat. Whisk together sugar and lemon juice and pour it into the pan with the sunflower seeds. Let the liquid reduce and pour the glazed sunflower seeds onto a baking sheet and spread the out before they cool down otherwise they will stick together.

Break of the lower part of the asparaguses and blanch them for one minute in boiling water. Rinse the asparaguses under cold water to stop the boiling and save the boiling water for cooking the pasta. Cut the asparaguses into smaller pieces.

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.

Toast the breadcrumbs in a skillet until i gets golden. Take off the breadcrumbs and mix it with thyme and salt. Cook the pasta as advised on the packaging until it is cooked 'al dente'.

Drizzle the dressing over the pasta and then add the bacon, sunflower seeds, asparagus and basil leaves. Serve the thyme-breadcrumb sprinkle on the side and sprinkle it on top of the dish right before eating.

Bon appetit....

Read about my friends experience with this dish on her blog - Carina's blog