David and I always go through the “what’s for dinner?” text at around 3 or 4 o’clock almost every day. This typically plays out as one of us suggesting what we are craving and the other agreeing or suggesting something better (usually me, just saying). David makes a stop at the grocery store to pick up the ingredients and I cook it up when he gets home. Because teamwork makes the dreamwork. And speaking of dreams… that is what this quick and easy pasta recipe is made of!

The pasta dish is the perfect blend of melty parmesan cheese with my favorite summer veggies and duh, bacon of course! I added a generous amount of pepper and also butter for a cacio e pepe vibe and the result was perfection.

Best of all, this dish literally took 15 minutes to cook and can be customized for a party of one or a family of 4. All you need to do is adjust by dividing in half or one-fourth of the serving sizes below.

It’s time for a summer pasta party in your mouth!

Ingredients
(serves 4)

1 box pasta of choice. I chose pasta spirals, but imagine it would be good with fettuccine, rigatoni or orecchiette.
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into small pieces
1 cup frozen sweet corn
1/2 stick of grass-fed butter
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1 packet of nitrate-free and sugar-free organic bacon
Salt and pepper to season

Method

Cook pasta according to instructions on the box. Use a large heavy bottom pan. While the pasta is cooking, make the bacon in a cast iron skillet. 2 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, add in the corn and the asparagus. Drain the pasta with the veggies and reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Add the pasta and veggies back into the pan with a splash of the pasta water. add in the butter and stir in to melt. Add in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and stir to melt. Chop up the cooked bacon and add to the pasta. Add a generous serving of black pepper and a good sprinkle of salt. Stir until everything is combined. Scoop into bowls and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese and DIG IN!

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You know when you have those cooking moments… like dang, I made something really good? That just happened. And trust me, I am not the queen of the kitchen where every recipe turns out perfect every time. Oh no no no. My kitchen is a disaster of pots, pans, spilled ingredients, confusion and sometimes stove fires (I am working on this).  But the food orchestra came together perfectly for these meatballs and sauce, and all ingredients worked in a beautiful mouth-watering unison.

I had recently stocked up on five pounds of walnuts for making nut milk, throwing in salads, as an everyday snack and also for this recipe of basil pesto. I also picked up organic ground turkey decided to throw the basil into the meatball recipe as well. A little ad hoc ingredient combining turned out delicious.

I like to make a big batch of meatballs, cook up half to eat in a few dishes over the next couple of days, and then freeze the second half for an easy mid-week grab. The trick is to freeze them flat on parchment paper first and then store them in a Ziploc or stasher bag. (Yes, I know, the environment, blah blah blah, I am working on that too). I may be a work in progress, but hey, these balls turned out glorious, so do it!!

THE GOODS:

Turkey Basil Meatballs

-       One pound ground turkey (organic and free-range)

-       One handful chopped fresh basil

-       1 egg (I used pasture-raised)

-       1/3 cup of almond flour (can sub oat flour or gf four although I haven’t tried)

-       1/2 teaspoon black pepper

-       1/2 teaspoon salt

-       1/2 teaspoon onion powder

-       1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

-       2-3 garlic cloves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. With wet hands, form meatballs with your hands and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. You can also cook in olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet like I did (too hot the day I made these to turn on the over, yowza).

Walnut basil-pesto sauce

-       2 cups fresh basil

-       1/4 cup olive oil

-       1/3 cup walnuts (raw almonds or pine nuts would work too)

-       1/2 teaspoon salt

-       1/2 teaspoon black pepper

-       1 – 2 garlic cloves

-       1/2 lemon squeezed

Drop everything into a food processor except for the olive oil.  Turn on and pour the olive oil slowly in to combine all the ingredients.  Scrape down the sides if necessary and pulse again.

WHAT’S IN MY BOWL:

Chopped fresh romaine lettuce, roasted butternut squash, blanched asparagus, half an avocado and the turkey basil meatballs with a scoop of the pesto. 

You could also add the pesto to a bowl of brown rice pasta with the asparagus and meatballs on top.  I did this as well with a new almond flour pasta I found from a brand called Cappello’s that I picked up at Whole Foods.  It was absolutely amazing and did not taste like gluten-free pasta AT ALL.  Promise.