Fettuccine with green tomatoes, bacon, and prawns on a large white plate

Green Tomato Fettuccine

With Bacon & Prawns

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Don't get me wrong - a juicy, ripe, red tomato is a thing of glory. But don't sell green tomatoes short! They have a flavour all their own, and they cook up fantastically. It's funny really, we get so used to a food that we eat all the time, we forget that there might be other ways to go about it. In fact, in much of Asia, tomatoes are preferred when they're in that just-barely-red phase, still tinged by green. On top of that, the growing popularity of heirloom varieties has done a lot to show people that there's a lot more to life than the anemic mid-winter mealy globes that have passed for tomatoes all these years.

This simple pasta dish lets the bright, acidic flavour of the green tomatoes shine through against the contrasting umami-richness of the bacon, prawns, and cheese. It's already a fairly healthy dish (for pasta, bacon, and cheese anyway), but you could always try a good turkey bacon if you wanted to reduce the fat further.

Inspired by this recipe from Jolene George at the Oregonian.

Recipe Notes

There's nothing too complicated going on here - the whole thing comes together in a snap.

While I wrote fettuccine in the ingredient list, the pasta I used here is fettucce, which is a broad form of fettuccine. But nobody (including spellcheck) seems to know what fettucce is, and I didn't want everyone thinking it was a typo. But hey, if you can find it, it's a nice change. You can use any long pasta that you like; linguine or bucatini would be lovely.

As for the tomatoes, these are green UNRIPE tomatoes. I'm making the distinction because (at least where I live) green heirloom tomato varieties are becoming more and more common. While these tomatoes are amazing, beautiful, and delicious, they're not what you're looking for here. The idea with using unripe tomatoes is to showcase their somewhat acidic, grassy flavour against the rich bacon and cheese.

Grana padano cheese is my go-to here, but a good parmigiano-reggiano is lovely too. You could experiment with other aged, hard, glutamate-rich cheeses as well.

Nutritional info is given for a single serving (1/4 total recipe).

Nutrition Facts

Fettuccine with Green Tomatoes, Bacon, and Prawns

Amount Per Serving

Calories 572 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Trans Fat 0.04g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 7g

Cholesterol 109mg36%

Sodium 941mg41%

Potassium 596mg17%

Carbohydrates 64g21%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 8g9%

Protein 32g64%

Vitamin A 650IU13%

Vitamin C 27.2mg33%

Calcium 110mg11%

Iron 4.9mg27%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Summary

GOOD NEWS:Dishes like this prove that you can cook with calorie-rich (and often maligned) ingredients like bacon and pasta without creating an over-the-top dinner disaster. The bacon is used judiciously and a lot of fat is drained away, while the overall presentation doesn't rely heavily on oil, cream, cheese, or any of the other trappings of unhealthy pasta dishes. High in protein and nutrients, this makes a very hearty, yet fairly healthy meal.

BAD NEWS:Bacon, even when used carefully and cooked properly, still adds a fair bit of sodium and saturated fat to a meal. Make sure not to undercook the bacon, as this yields an end product with a lot more fat.

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