Pecan, Bacon & Cherry Tomato Pasta

Here is a quick pasta dish for those rushed weekday nights. I am saying goodbye to the last of my cherry tomatoes. And my oregano that seems bizarrely unharmed by frost. Oh yes and my last zucchini too. I used bacon made in Mont-Laurier, Quebec where a lot of good things in food are coming from these days. It is nitrate free and much less salty than regular bacon. This could easily become a vegetarian dish by upping the pecans to a half cup and sauteing them in olive or canola oil instead.

Cherry Tomato, Bacon and Pecan Pasta
serves 4

• 454g / 1 lb broad egg noodles
• 4 slices bacon, cut into thin strips
• 60 ml / 1/4 cup pecans, chopped in pieces
• 1 leek, trimmed and cleaned, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
  
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
  
• 250 ml / 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5 ml / 1 t fresh oregano, chopped
  
• salt and freshly grated pepper to taste

Cook the noodles al dente and set aside. In a large saute pan cook the bacon until crispy and then add the pecans and cook for 90 seconds more. Remove pecans and bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Leave all but a tablespoonful of bacon fat in the pan and add the leeks cooking for 2 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the zucchini and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the cherry tomatoes and a pinch of oregano and cook until the tomatoes start to break down (2-3 minutes). Add the pasta to the pan and toss. Divide the pasta in 4 equal portions and garnish with the pecan and bacon mixture. Season to taste and enjoy!