Wednesday 6 August 2008

Homegrown Rocket (arugula) pasta with fresh tomatoes and bacon

I've always enjoyed growing my own veg, I find it incredibly satisfying to start with a tiny insignificant seed and nurture it into something I can cook and eat. I love watching my plants develop and look forward to the day I can finally reap what I have sown. It is not possible to get fresher ingredients than those I have grown myself and I know exactly what's on them, so there's no nasty chemicals on my plants!!

Unfortunately when we moved house a few years ago we lost our garden, our new house has a tiny garden, this means that a big veg patch is out of the question. I still try though and have managed to grow this beautiful tub of Rocket (I think it's the same thing as arugula) there are also a few carrots growing in tubs and one lonely bean plant!
I wanted to make the most out of my rocket so I came up with a pasta dish in which it featured as the star ingredient. As tomatoes are perfectly in season at the moment (they're really tasty and very cheap) I wanted to use them as well, I also used bacon, Parmesan and a touch of cream to make this dish.

It was delicious, the peppery Rocket really stood out and brought the whole thing alive, I think this is definitely going to be a regular meal at my house although it's only worth making in the summer with the fantastic vegetables that are abundant at this time of year.

1 comment:

Christine said...

That sounds really great! I don't often buy arugula, but I find chopped parsley adds a peppery taste that's similar to arugula. The addition of bacon was an excellent idea.