Sunday, March 05, 2006

Tuscan Spaghetti with Red Wine


Another steal from Saveur/my "Recipes to Make" notebook. Threw it together in fifteen minutes today, and it was to die for. Didn't have a Chianti handy, so I used a bottle of Goats do Roam (reserving a glass for myself, of course), and it was just fine. Be sure not to rinse the pasta after it's done - the winey tang on the noodles is delicious! Also, the prosciutto is quite salty, so salting during the cooking process is unadvisable. The red pepper gives it a wonderful bite. The recipe is so easy, and great for an impromptu fancy sunday night dinner. Enjoy!

TUSCAN SPAGHETTI WITH RED WINE

INGREDIENTS

1 750-ml bottle Chianti or Chianti Classico
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3/4 pound (12 ounces) thin spaghetti or spaghettini, broken in half
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 very thin slices (1 1/2 ounces) prosciutto, chopped (not too small)
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 cups (about 3 ounces) fresh baby spinach
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS

Add Chianti, salt and enough water to fill a large pot and bring to a boil. Add spaghetti and stir. Cook until al dente, about 8 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. (If it starts to brown, lower heat.)

Add prosciutto or other ham and cook for another minute or two, until meat begins to sizzle. Add pepper flakes and cook a minute more. Toss in baby spinach and cook until totally wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with black pepper.

When spaghetti is done, remove about 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid from the pot and reserve. Drain pasta but do not rinse. Add spaghetti directly to frying pan along with 1/2 cup or so of the reserved cooking liquid, enough to make a sauce. Add chopped parsley. Toss pasta in pan to distribute ingredients and simmer a minute or 2 until cooking liquid has almost all evaporated. Sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and serve immediately.




Tagged with: +

8 comments:

YouGuysKnow said...

that's beautiful! i have never heard of cooking spag in red wine before - that's so cool. your pix are nice. My first visit to your blog - i'll be back!

Anonymous said...

My very favorite kind of meal--quick, easy, and looks delicious! On my to-try list...

Cate said...

Wow, that looks great. I'm all for quick dishes for weeknight meals. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Michelle said...

Yum! This sounds great and in my quest for recipes that I have most of the ingredients (still poor) it sounds perfect! Thanks! I'm a Saveur reader too and although I haven't made very many recipes from them (same reasons as you!) the ones I have tried have been incredible - there was a cake with double devonshire cream and strawberry preserves that was divine and a fig and lemon jam that I love as well.

I tried a key lime pie recipe a while ago from Paula Deen that was pretty good. Not perfect, but it might get better with a little tweaking. I'm a key lime pie lover myself!

Jen said...

Thanks for this recipe and the inspiration! I made this last night and it was awesome!!

Nupur said...

Definitely the most unusual pasta recipe I have come across in a long while! Thanks for sharing, and your pictures are beautiful.

Gooseberry said...

I'm also called Kate, and I'm also graduating in May (in RI), and as a South African, I approve of your choice in wine! The pasta's gorgeous. Jamie Oliver has a great recipe for a beetroot cake (his take on the more traditional carrot cake) that's the exact colour of your pasta. Let me know if you'd like me to email you the recipe. Good luck for May...

JP in PHL said...

This was a great recipe! Certainly not an everyday choice, but wonderful for special occasions.