Forget 'Fasta Pasta' - Make this instead!

Yesterday my boss said, "I'm very glad that you're cooking so much great food and blogging about it, but why aren't I getting any of the food?!"
I told him that if he had been in bed with Marcus and I on Saturday morning that I would have made him pancakes. He said he thought that sounded like a fair deal. Hmm. I was speechless for once...

So, in the spirit of maintaining positive office relations, I offered to make him lunch one day instead. The catch: he has to review the meal and let me post a picture of him enjoying (hopefully) the dish. I thought that was a lot more generous than expecting him to join our pyjamas-optional Saturday breakfast.

For tonight's dinner I have knocked up this tasty dish. I ate too much and feel fatter than usual:) It is my first attempt at using not-bacon, and I really liked it! The taste is remarkably similar,and I think it has added a lot of texture and flavour to the dish. Tomorrow we'll find out if Paul likes the reheated version for his lunch!

Sizzling not-bacon Spirals

Ingredients:

4 sliced Field mushrooms
1 pack not-bacon, sliced
3 cloves chopped Italian garlic
3 sliced spring onion stalks
2 cups white wine
1 cup green stringless beans, 2 cm lengths
1 cup local green asparagus, 2 cm lengths
1 punnet grape tomatoes
1 cup shredded loose packed basil leaves
zest and juice of 2 lemons
robust olive oil
salt and pepper
parmezano to taste

500g cooked pasta spirals

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add sliced field mushies, grind generous amounts of pepper over them, and cook until just starting to colour. Please make sure your pan is hot and there is enough to spread out mushrooms in a single layer. You can seal the mushrooms in hot oil, just like meat. It makes them taste so delicious, and not shrink up so much.

Add in the spring onions and garlic, and stir gently to prevent garlic from burning. After a minute, add the white wine. Turn the heat down after 30 seconds, then add in the beans, asparagus and whole grape tomatoes. Simmer over low heat until just cooked.

Add the basil, lemon juice and zest, and pasta. Give it a good stir and remove from heat.

In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the not-bacon. It will colour,just like the piggy variety. We want the colour. When it is coloured and sizzling, add it to the pasta.

Season with salt and pepper to your taste. I am a bit naughty and add a splash more of olive oil.

Serve it up with some Parmezano and a crisp dry white.