Provencal Spaghetti

I call this dish Provencal Spaghetti, not because of the ingredients but rather that it was first created during a long hot Provencal summer! I've never worked out the weights of the ingredients as frankly they change each time. It is however a great lunch, especially with a good ice cold Rose (Chateau de Pampelonne for example)!

Ingredients:

Spaghetti

For the sauce:

Garlic - finely chopped
Asparagus
Sun-dried tomatoes
Grilled red peppers
Capers
Lardons
Parmesan shavings
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Dried Chillies
Black pepper
Croutons (from yesterday's baguette!)

Instructions

Firstly in a large pan of salted boiling water cook spaghetti as per packet instructions.

In a large open pan, fry the lardons over a high heat until they start to crisp up. Lower heat slightly and then add chopped garlic and dried chillies. Cook for another minute before adding the asparagus and capers. Cook gently for a minute or two and then add the grilled red peppers, the sun dried tomatoes and a good squeeze of lemon juice. I also like to add a few shavings of parmesan at this stage, as I enjoy their melted texture. Season well with black pepper, and cook gently until pasta is ready.

Drain pasta, and add to the sauce, mixing well to ensure that every strand has a glorious coating of oil, garlic, caper, chilli and parmesan flavouring.

Place on a large serving plate, add croutons and more parmesan shavings plus additional black pepper and serve immediately.