Bacon and Squash Pasta

A few weeks ago I was introduced to DeLallo Pasta and Sauces and have since fallen madly in love!  I kid you not, this is by far the best whole wheat pasta I’ve ever had and the sauces are to die for!

Delallo makes 5 different pomodoro fresco sauces in spicy arrabbiata, creamy vodka, marinara, roasted garlic, and tomato basil.  If you had to ask me to pick a favorite, I would honestly tell you it’s too hard to pick.  They are all really good but my top two would be spicy arrabbiata and creamy vodka… oh. so. good!

I have made many dishes over the past two weeks including simple pasta and sauce dishes with their wide variety of whole wheat pastas and a whole wheat orzo salad (recipes coming soon!).  Yesterday though I created a (not to toot my own horn) FANTASTIC end of summer/beginning of fall pasta dish.  Let me introduce you to my DeLallo Bacon and Squash Pasta dish…

DeLallo Bacon and Squash Pasta

• 6 slices of bacon
• 2 summer squash (or fall variety if you’d like)
• 1 onion
• salt and pepper
• 1 TBSP Italian seasoning
• 1 TBSP dried parsley
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 16 oz DeLallo whole wheat Fusilli Bucati pasta
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup of pasta water

To start, bring a large pot of water to boil.  Next cook your 6 slices of bacon in a large saute pan and dice your squash and onion.

When the bacon is cooked through (to your liking), remove it from the pan and set aside for later.  In the same pan add all of your veggies.  Cooking your veggies in the bacon fat adds an additional level of flavor to your dish.  NOTE: you can DEFINITELY lighten this dish by using turkey bacon and then cooking your veggies with a little cooking spray to keep them from sticking to the pan.

Allow the veggies to cook down for about 15 minutes before de-glazing the pan with 1/4 cup of white wine.

At this time you should add your pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook according to the package.

Next chop your cooked bacon and add it to the pan of cooked down veggies.  Add the Italian seasoning, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. NOTE: If you’re going to use butternut squash in place of summer squash I recommend using sage in place of the Italian seasoning.

When it’s time to drain your pasta add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to your pan of veggies before discarding all of the water.  After draining your pasta add it directly to your pan of veggies and stir to combine.

Just before serving, add 1/4 of Parmesan cheese and stir well.

Parmesan Garlic Bread

• 1 Italian loaf
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 TBSP Italian seasoning
• 2 TBSP Parmesan cheese
• 1 TBSP miced garlic
• splash of white wine

For the bread, combine the olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, wine, and seasoning in a bowl.  Next slice an Italian loaf, being careful not to cut all the way through.  You essentially want to create a pocked to hold the garlic Parmesan goodness.  Once you’ve sliced your bread, spoon a bit of the oil mixture into each cut, spreading the mixture evenly.  Finally wrap the loaf in foil and bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.

I served the bread along side a bowl of DeLallo marinara sauce just for some extra acid and flavor. Note: I love the pasta dish as is but my Aunt and hubby both added the DeLallo marinara sauce to their pasta, not knowing the sauce was for the bread.

I am a smidge obsessed with Parmesan cheese, if you haven’t noticed already, so I topped my pasta with a little bit more cheese.  It. Was. Perfect!

This dish was the perfect Sunday afternoon/end of summer/beginning of fall/get in my belly pasta dish!

So now that I’ve teased you will all of this DeLallo goodness, who wants to win some??  This giveaway is HUGE, and I mean huge.  The winner will win DeLallo’s line of Pomodoro Fresco Sauces along with a selection of their Whole Wheat Pastas.  Isn’t that awesome?

To enter, you must answer the mandatory question through Rafflecopter.  The question will be provided in Rafflecopter and then you will leave your answer as a comment on this blog post.  In addition, you will have up to 7 extra opportunities for additional entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best of luck and a huge thank you to DeLallo Foods for the amazing giveaway, pasta, and sauces!  The giveaway will end Friday at midnight and a winner will be announced Saturday.

Tagged with: Dinner • giveaway • Italian • Pasta

Filed under: Cooking • Giveaways • Recipes • Reviews

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