It’s summertime and the living should be easy, right? Well in this Covid/ pandemic time, nothing seems easy. But I hope this super simple, really easy and wonderfully tasty Sunny Golds with Bacon Pasta Sauce Recipe will cheer you up.

Pasta in Italy

First of all, pasta is always a great comforting dish, which is sorely needed in these anxiety-ridden times. I remember my summer living in Italy and helping Bianca with her broken leg, making a pasta for dinner, and Bianca said she could eat the whole bowl of pasta and eat it every day!

However, in my experience with the Italians at home, I saw them carefully weighing their dried pasta before cooking, so as to not overeat as they love it so much. They are not fat.

Easy peasy.

This Sunny Golds with Bacon Pasta Sauce recipe couldn’t be easier as just a little bit of time is needed to cut the tomatoes. Literally, that is the most labor-intensive thing here.

And if you’re not a meat eater, just skip the bacon and use 2 tablespoons of olive oil instead. Although the bacon does add that wonderful smokey flavor and everything is always better with bacon, right, as long as you eat meat.

Be sure to trim the bacon of any big fat chunks, as the fat will be left in your finished dish.

The Sunny Golds are so sweet and flavorful, you can do it either way, with or without the bacon. I did it both ways just this week. Because the high heat of the roasting brings out the flavor of the tomatoes even more, I know you will really enjoy this.

Here is the recipe – don’t forget to add LOVE while slicing those tomatoes!

SUNNY GOLDS WITH BACON PASTA SAUCE – serves 3 – 4

A little less than a quart of sunny gold tomatoes, washed and cut in half
3 slices of no nitrate, thick cut bacon, cut into 1/2 pieces. Remove large chunks of fat and discard.
OR use: 2 Tbs. olive oil
3 cloves of garlics, smashed or minced
1 tsp. crushed dried oregano
¾ of a pound of dried pasta
Grated Pecorino cheese
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Toss the tomatoes with the bacon or olive oil (not both as the bacon will provide the fat as it cooks), garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper in a 9” x 9” glass Pyrex baking dish and bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, until the bacon is cooked and the tomatoes have collapsed.

Meanwhile, boil your water for the pasta, salt liberally, preferably with coarse sea salt and cook your pasta according to the package directions, starting to check for doneness at 2 minutes less than the lesser time. You will not be cooking the pasta any more in this sauce so make sure it is done to your liking but still al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander.

Warm the bowls you will be serving the pasta in as well as the large bowl to combine it all.

When the sauce is done, remove it from the oven and toss it with the pasta in the separate warmed large bowl. Use tongs to combine. Scrape in all the juices too!

When it is thoroughly combined, serve in warmed individual bowls garnished with fresh basil and offer fresh grated pecorino and an extra pinch of LOVE.

Enjoy!!