Week 19: One Pot Wonder

The Recipe
150g bacon
12 ounces linguine pasta (couldn't find any, so I used spaghetti instead)
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid
1 onion, cut in thin strips
4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 squash, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch (about 10 to 12 leaves) basil, diced
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook bacon in a large stock pot until almost done. Add pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, bell pepper and squash. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add basil leaves and stir pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot evenly throughout the pasta as you are serving. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

The Verdict
I had a bunch of asparagus from the garden, which I thought I might as well add as well - worked very nicely :)

The liquid did not evaporate at all! So this ended up more as a stew than a pasta dish. Never mind - it still turned out absolutely delicious, and is definitely something I'll be making again.