Pasta with Asparagus, Bacon, and Arugula

Linguine with Asparagus, Bacon, and Arugula  (found here, on allrecipes.com)

Submitted By: Asiangirl    Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 5-6

"A must try, sauteed asparagus, bacon, and arugula are tossed with hot linguine; a special bright flavor comes from fresh lemon juice. It's simple and tasty!"

Ingredients:

1 pound linguine, uncooked 1/3 pound sliced bacon, cut in half 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1 (5 ounce) package baby arugula leaves 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1.	Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
2.	Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp. Remove to paper towels. Pour olive oil into skillet, and stir in garlic and asparagus. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3.	Add pasta to skillet. Turn flame off. Toss with arugula, lemon juice, and bacon.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2013 Allrecipes.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  We happened to have an abundance of arugula in the garden and all the other ingredients on hand so went searching and found this recipe to try....it was pretty good and it has potential...each of us thought of ways we could improve this recipe. I used 8 cloves of garlic instead of 2 and we all thought it could have used even more....red pepper flakes would have been good...we didn't care for the lemon juice and thought that white wine instead would have been better.   There was so much fat that the asparagus and garlic practically boiled instead of sauteed, but it turned out fine, not greasy at all.  In fact we thought there was too much pasta (we used Tinkyada Brown Rice Spaghetti) and maybe 12 -14 oz. would be better.  In that case maybe the oil should be cut a little....it needed salt and pepper and we topped it with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  The arugula came from our garden, not baby leaves, but not too strong - about 4 ounces.  The bacon was ours - homegrown and home cured.  Onions or leeks caramelized with the bacon would have been a good addition as well.  Some small pieces of chicken breast added just before the asparagus and garlic would have been good....we'll certainly try it again and make these changes.  =)  Couldn't finish it and had no room for the fresh tossed green salad we made...saved the salad for "dessert" later!  We listened to our "Julie & Julia" soundtrack on YouTube (find it here), while we cooked & ate~ that was nice.