KITCHEN-SINK PASTA

Sometimes cooking is precision, measuring set amounts or cooking at exact temperatures.  Cooking is also a mercurial art.  It's the jazz of dinner made without a recipe's restrictions.  It's the alchemy of mingling what's left in your pantry. This dinner was  born from want -- basically, I had no desire to walk to the food store.

Looking around the kitchen, I eyed a bunch of parsley and a few cloves of garlic.  Rummaging through the pantry, I came across a bag of breadcrumbs, a tin of anchovies and some spaghetti.  I decided to do a greener take on aglio, olio e peperoncino.  A satisfying mix of browned garlic, spicy peperoncino and tons of clean-tasting parsley dresses the pasta.  The anchovy adds a savory -- but not fishy -- under note.

INGREDIENTS

* 8 oz spaghetti, cooked

* 4-5 anchovy filets 

* 3 cloves of garlic (or more)

* 1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley 

* 1-2 chopped peperoncini or 1/2 tsp. of red chile flakes

* 3 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

* 1/2 cup of panko, toasted 

Cook the pasta for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. While the water is boiling, roughly chop the parsley leaves and slice the garlic cloves into thin slivers. Then, heat 2 tbs. of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the anchovies to the warmed oil and let them cook for 1 minute.  With a wooden spoon, stir the anchovies around the skillet. They should begin to break down and dissolve in the oil.  

At this point, add the peperoncino and the garlic slices to the oil.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  The garlic will become aromatic and then begin to brown.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Light-brown is good.  Dark brown is bitter.  Once the garlic has started to brown, turn off the heat.

 

In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 tbs. of oil oil.  Stir with a fork to ensure that the oil is evenly coating the crumbs.  Heat a different skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the breadcrumbs and toast for 2 minutes.  They should sizzle and turn a golden-brown.

Remove the pasta from the boiling water with a pasta spoon.  Put it straight into the pan with the garlic-anchovy-oil mix.  Toss the pasta, making sure that the flavored oil coats all of it.  At this point, add the rough-chopped parsley and the breadcrumbs.  Toss once or twice more to evenly distribute all of the ingredients.  Serve immediately.

AGLIO, OLIO, PEPERONCINO

Photo credit

Italian food is a normally a slow cuisine. Hand-shaped pastas. Stove-top braises. Day-long sauces.  But, when I was studying in Florence, my friend Antonio introduced me to one of Italy's easier recipes: aglio, olio e peperoncino. Garlic (aglio) and chili (peperoncino) get sauteed until fragrant in olive oil (olio).  This trinity is then tossed with a heap of hot spaghetti.

Purists will make this sauce with just those three ingredients. To jazz it up, you can also dress the oil-slicked spaghetti with a handful of chopped parsley or pan toasted breadcrumbs.  This is flavorful food for the kitchen clueless.

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 cloves of garlic (or more to taste), roughly chopped

* 3 dried peperoncini or 1/2 tsp. or red chili flakes

* 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil

* 16 oz of dried spaghetti

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS:

* 1/2 cup of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

*1/3 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano 

OR

* 1/3 cup of  pan-toasted breadcrumbs

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Pour in the spaghetti once the water boils,  cooking for 9-10 minutes until al dente.  Meanwhile, roughly chop the peeled garlic and peperoncini.  While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium.  After 2 minutes of heating, add garlic to the oil. Stir frequently, sizzling the garlic until it starts to brown.  This will take around 2 minutes.

Mix in the peperoncini or red pepper flakes into the oil.  Cook the garlic and chili for another 30 seconds -- no stirring.  Before straining the pasta, pour 1 ladle-ful of starchy pasta water into the garlic-chili-oil slurry.  Turn the heat to medium-high and bring this liquid to a boil. When it begins to bubble, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook the liquid for 5 minutes, allowing the browned garlic and chili to hydrate and soften in the water.  Remove the liquid from the heat after 5 minutes

Strain the spaghetti and then pour it into the skillet with the garlicky water.  Toss the pasta and the liquid, coating all of the spaghetti.  If you'd like, you can add the chopped parsley or grated cheese at this point.  Be sure to re-toss the pasta if you add herbs or parmigiano. Let the pasta sit at room temperature for 3-5 minutes; this will give the pasta time absorb some of the flavored liquid. (If you'd prefer to add a bit of crunch, dress each bowl of pasta with a tablespoon or two of toasted breadcrumbs; you can read about making pant-toasted breadcrumbs here).