Last weekend, we took the drive out to Olean to visit our farmer (I love the sound of that). We were picking up our pork share for the winter, as well as our Thanksgiving turkey. We are so lucky to have found Pierre and Sojourner Farms. The fact that every animal on the farm is pasture-raised and not pumped full of antibiotics and hormones means so much to us. I am so happy to support a wonderful place like that. It’s truly the only meat we buy.

After making the drive, it seemed wrong not to at least cook up a quick dinner with some of the delicious food we picked up. It was pretty late by the time we were ready to make dinner, so I decided to whip up a quick pasta dish for us (yeh, I know, more pasta!). The kale in my garden was still holding on and I had everything else on hand, so I thought this would be perfect. It was so perfect and delicious. Light but still hearty, it was a great quick dinner. The smokey bacon flavor was delicious and cooking the kale in the same pan as the bacon gave some of the edges that nice crisp as well. There are so many great flavors in this dish that you really don’t need much more than a pinch of Parmigiano-Reggiano on each serving, it’s that good. I am really going to miss my kale this winter, it is such a versatile green that really stands up to so many dishes. Here’s to next year’s gardening season!

Pasta with Kale, Bacon and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
serves 4

16 ounces organic gluten-free brown rice pasta
4 cups kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
3 slices pasture-raised farm fresh bacon (we get ours from Sojourner Farms)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup of freshly shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain.

While pasta cooks, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, 4-5 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, set aside. Crumble when cooled. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add kale to the pan and cook 3-5 minutes until tender and a bit crisp around the edges.

In a large serving bowl, add the cooked pasta, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, kale, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. The little bit of grease from the bacon should be enough for the pasta, if it isn’t, add a drizzle or two of olive oil. Top the pasta with the shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Serve.