Spaghetti All'Ubriaco for One

After spending practically all of March away or eating take out between trips, dinner options around here are slim pickins. I spotted this recipe for spaghetti all'ubriaco or "drunken spaghetti" on Serious Eats and dreamt of it all day. I had about 1/3 of a bottle of a Malbec sitting on the counter and decided to give it a go.

The result, a rich, but not too heavy purplish pasta with a little tang and heat from the pesto and pepperocinis. Meal completed with some simple greens and spinach with just a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar that RJ brought me back from Mendoza, Argentina (and dang, it's GOOD).

Oh, and one of my favorite beers, the only one left in my fridge - Dogfish I.B.A. Time to kick up the feet and relax for the night. Mission, complete.






Spaghetti All'Ubriaco

Ingredients:
whole wheat spaghetti
equal parts red wine and water to cover the pasta
salt for pasta water
TB or so of basil pesto
4 or 5 pepperocini rings, or 1 whole pepperocini
2 cloves of garlic, minced
extra virgin olive oil

Heavily salt and the heat the water and wine in a pot until it reaches a boil. Cook the pasta, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick. Meanwhile, toast the garlic in the olive oil with the diced pepperocinis. When the pasta is done, drain so that there's still just a little bit of liquid, reserving the remaining liquid. Mix together with the garlic and pepperocinis.



Add the pesto to flavor, about a tablespoon. I added about 2/3 of a cup of the pasta water / wine since I didn't have any remaining wine (add raw wine if you have it), the simmered for a few minutes to let the flavors combine.

Annnnnnnd, serve. Delish.