Drunken Spaghetti Red Wine Pasta (spaghetti all'ubriaco)
This simple but elegant red wine pasta recipe is a fabulous choice for special occasions like Valentine’s or Christmas! Drunken spaghetti involves cooking the pasta in red wine almost like a risotto. This dish actually doesn’t have a high alcohol content as cooking burns off most the alcohol. The result is plum coloured noodles with a slightly sweet and spicy wine flavour!
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Ingredients
Method
Pour the wine minus half a glass (2.5floz) into a saucepan, bring it to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes. Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to a boil again.
Wash and chop a handful of parsley. Peel and halve 2 garlic cloves and cut the fresh or dried peperoncino into small pieces. Remove the seeds for less heat. Make sure you wash your hands after handling the chili.
Sauté the garlic, ½ the parsley and the peperoncino in a large deep frying pan or skillet in extra virgin olive oil.
Cook the spaghetti for just over half the recommended cooking time. Save a little pasta cooking water, Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet.
Gradually add the wine to the spaghetti one ladle at a time, stirring continuously until the spaghetti is a deep red colour and al dente. If you run out of hot wine before the pasta is cooked, use the saved pasta cooking water. Remove from the heat and mix in the uncooked wine you set aside.
Serve immediately with more chopped parsley and some grated Pecorino or vegetarian cheese. I used slivers of Pecorino.