Bowtie Pasta with Asparagus and Snow Peas the Recipe

Here is the recipe for the meal I made and talked about below.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pound bacon (center-cut is less fatty)
  
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound bow-tie pasta (I used tri-color)
  
• 1/2 pound sugar snap peas or snow peas, trimmed
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
• Additional freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:
In small skillet fry the bacon. Set aside to cool.
Add asparagus to large pot of boiling salted water. Cook until just crisp-tender. Transfer to bowl of cold water using slotted spoon. Cool asparagus slightly and drain. Add pasta to same pot of water and boil until just tender but still firm to bite. Add sugar snap peas and boil 2 minutes. While they boil break bacon into crumbs. Add asparagus to the pot and heat through. Drain well. Return pasta-vegetable mixture to pot. Add oil, bacon, beans and toss to coat. Add 1/2 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese separately.

This dish is great because you can make almost all of it in one pot. Plus, it uses the ingredients that are in season (in the spring). I also like that you get alot of veggies (but they aren't plain) and plenty of protein (from the beans mostly) that you are filled.