Midnight spaghetti: Simple pasta classics when you're in a rush - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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The idea of midnight spaghetti is not new. Known in Italy as spaghettata di mezzanote, its preparation occurs after a night of drinking and partying.

Or maybe you’ve forgotten to eat during the day and suddenly you’re starving and all that’s available is mediocre takeout.

Time to go home and cook. It must be simple and fast. In my restaurant days, I tasted food all day long but often forgot to eat anything substantial. I’d come home and around midnight, once the adrenaline of the day subsided, I would be ravenous. This was my go-to dish before I crashed.

At its simplest, this recipe has just five basic pantry ingredients: salt, good spaghetti, good olive oil, garlic and a little red pepper. It is known in Italian as aglio e olio (garlic and olive oil).

Of course, you can always add anchovies, capers, chopped parsley or basil, olives, pine nuts, grated cheese and whatever else you like and have on hand. But the idea is to keep it simple.

Aglio e Olio

Serves 4

Kosher salt

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

5 peeled garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

Red pepper flakes

1 pound dried spaghetti or any other shape you like

Bring a large pot of generously salted water (it should taste like the sea) to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, without letting it brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in red pepper flakes to your taste and optional ingredients like anchovies, capers, pine nuts, fresh chopped herbs and the like. Remove pan from heat.

Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until it’s al dente (start testing after 6 minutes). It’s done when it has softened but still has a pleasantly chewy resistance when you bite down.

Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta. Transfer pasta directly to the skillet set over medium-high heat and add about two-thirds of the reserved water and remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook, stirring often, until sauce coats the pasta, 1 to 2 minutes. You should have a little sauce pooling at the bottom of the skillet. If not, add more cooking water and stir well. Season to your taste with salt and pepper. Top with optional freshly grated Parmesan if you like and serve hot. Now go to bed!

Let’s talk a bit about the exceptionally large world of pasta (or noodles) and specifically the long, dried ones like spaghetti. Though we think of them as primarily Italian, they appear in many cuisines, including Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern.

They’re made from every imaginable flour including wheat, rice, corn, mung bean, tapioca, yam, buckwheat, garbanzo, sweet potato and chestnut. They can be freshly made or dried. (Two books on making fresh pasta that I like are “Pasta by Hand” by Jenn Louis and “American Sfoglino” by Evan Funke.)

It’s important to note that fresh is not better than dried. It all depends on how it is sauced and used. The focus here is on Italian dry spaghetti and its long, dried cousins like bucatini, fusilli, capellini, fettuccine, vermicelli, tagliarini and the like, all of which could be substituted in the recipes below.

Pasta’s history is ancient. The oft-repeated, old canard about Marco Polo bringing pasta to Italy after visiting China ignores the fact that pasta was well-known in Italy before Polo set off on his 24-year journey in 1271. There is evidence that the ancient Etruscans were aware of pasta centuries before this: wall paintings from the period show it being made. It is the original comfort food of humans.

Now that you have the simplest sauce down, here are a few more to add to your repertoire. All the following are served with 1 pound of cooked spaghetti or one of its cousins and serve 4 to 6.

The name implies that seafood is involved, but typically it isn’t. There are several theories on this, from the need of sailors to make a quick sauce to toss with their pasta before going to sea to the fact that they needed the money from the fish they caught to survive.

Marinara

Makes 4 to 6 servings

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Chopped fresh red chile pepper or hot red pepper flakes (optional)

¼ cup loosely packed fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

⅓ cup loosely packed chopped fresh basil

Freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese (optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and stir just long enough for the garlic to begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chile pepper, if using. Season to your taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened moderately, about 8 minutes. Add the oregano and basil during the last few minutes of cooking. Add cooked spaghetti and toss to coat. Serve topped with cheese, if using.

The Link Lonk


January 20, 2021 at 06:39AM
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Midnight spaghetti: Simple pasta classics when you're in a rush - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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