Here is the gist of this recipe: this is dry pasta–any kind of pasta you like–boiled in wine. Once the pasta is done, take some of the starchy pasta liquid and reserve it for the sauce. Then fry garlic and red chili flakes in either a) butter b) olive oil c) bacon grease or d) any combination of the aforementioned. And then you add the pasta liquid to it. Pour it over the drained noodles and cover in Parmesan cheese. You can top it with toasted pine nuts, bacon, or both.
The striking purple color of the noodles is instantly intriguing. I’ll use a bolder red like a cabernet or merlot and it gives a very rich color and taste. I haven’t tried pinot noir, but I’d bet the noodles would come out more pink than purple! Regardless, combine bitter elements of red wine with savory, salty, spicy pasta and it’s a flavor punch to the face.
I prepare this aglio e olio style with some slight modifications, but that basically means sauteing garlic (“aglio,” in Italian) in some kind of fat (“olio” is oil in Italian) with red chili flakes and then adding the starchy pasta liquid to complete the sauce.
I got the inspiration for this recipe from a restaurant in Minneapolis called Bar la Grassa which I really recommend if you’re ever in the Twin Cities area. They top theirs with toasted pine nuts!
Ingredients
1 lb dry pasta
750 mL bold red wine (cabernet sauvignon or merlot work well)
750 mL water, plus 2 cups, if needed
Oil and salt for pasta water
8 tbsp butter (or any combination of fats amounting to 1/2 cup)
4-8 cloves of garlic (up to you how garlicky you like it)
Heaping 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
1 cup pasta liquid, reserved just before draining pasta
1 cup parmesan cheese
Optional:
3 slices bacon
Toasted pine nuts
Instructions
1. Boil wine and 750 mL of water. Add oil and salt to solution.
2. Add pasta to boiling wine-water solution and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. *If the pasta liquid reduces such that the pasta is no longer submerged, add 2 cups of water.
3. Around the 10th minute of boiling, reserve 1 cup of the wine-water solution the pasta has been boiling in and set aside. Then drain the pasta and set aside.
4. Melt butter in a small sauce pan. When starting to sizzle, add garlic and stir until golden. Stir frequently to make sure garlic doesn’t burn.
5. Add chili flakes to butter and garlic and continue stirring for about 30 seconds. Don’t cook too long or the air will start to get a little spicy.
6. Pour reserved pasta liquid over butter, garlic, and chili flakes. There will be a slight flash, but you must pour the entire cup in.
7. Stir until the sauce starts to thicken slightly.
8. Remove from heat and pour over drained pasta. Toss the pasta with tongs.
9. Add parmesan cheese to pasta while continuing to toss.
10. Top with bacon or pine nuts and serve.