BLT Pesto Pasta Casserole

I used whole wheat spaghetti pasta for this recipe. You could use regular spaghetti pasta or even bucatini pasta.

1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

4 strips of bacon, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
2 leeks, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cups white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 package spaghetti noodles
1 cup fresh spinach
7 oz basil pesto
1/4 italian seasoning
salt and pepper for seasoning
olive oil

Begin bringing a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large sauté pan, crisp up bacon. Remove bacon and allow it to strain on a paper towel. Discard all of the bacon fat, except about 1 tbsp.

Drizzle sauté pan with olive oil and sauté leeks and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until leeks become soft. Add wine and chicken broth. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow cook for about 5 minutes.

Break spaghetti noodles into thirds and cook according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, add tomatoes, bacon, italian seasoning and red pepper flakes to leeks and allow to simmer on a low heat.

In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs and parmesan.

Once pasta is cooked, add pasta, tomato leek mixture and spinach. Toss to coat. Add pesto and toss to coat again. Put pasta mixture in a casserole dish and sprinkle breadcrumb mixture on the top. Bake for about 10 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned.

Serve and ENJOY!!!!

Wine pairing.......Sangiovese or Rhone.