Last night was pasta night at our house, where we cook ridiculously large amounts of pasta, eat some for dinner and lunch the next day and then freeze what we don’t eat. We made a Peppered Bacon Salt and Tomato Linguine that was excellent – the sweetness of the basil really complemented the spicy-savory taste of the Peppered Bacon Salt. Here’s the recipe in smaller serving size (which we essentially doubled):

Peppered Bacon Salt and Tomato Linguine

• 2 tablespoons Peppered Bacon Salt
• 2 tablespoons good quality olive oil
• 1/2 lb ground Italian sausage (preferably sweet or not too spicy, optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp sugar
• 8-10 chopped basil leaves plus some for garnish (or 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

If you’re using ground Italian sausage, cook and break up into small bits in a large skillet then drain and set aside. Place olive oil and Peppered Bacon Salt in the skillet. Heat over medium heat for 1 minute, then add garlic and green onion and saute for another minute. Stir in tomatoes, basil and sugar then simmer for 5 minutes, then add ground Italian sausage and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add more Peppered Bacon Salt to taste. While this is going, cook pasta in boiling lightly salted water until al dente (just cooked and a little firm), drain. Toss the hot pasta with the sauce, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and chopped basil to serve. Buon appetito!