I first had a version of this recipe at a restaurant in Florence. I loved the way the pasta took on a gorgeous ruby color because of the red wine. When I made it at home, I adapted it by adding some anchovies and finished it by grating a little pecorino over top, which made a perfect salty counterpoint to the sweetness of the red wine. I recommend using a Chianti, but feel free to substitute any good red you have on hand.
Ingredients
1 lb (500 g) spaghetti
4 to 5 cups (1 to 1.25 L) red wine
4 tbsp (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 anchovies, finely chopped
Chili pepper flakes, QB
1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup (50 ml) freshly grated pecorino cheese
Directions
1. Boil some water and cook your pasta for about 2 minutes. Drain well.
2. In a second large pasta pot, put your wine on to boil.
3. In a frying pan, heat up the olive oil. Add the garlic, anchovies and chili pepper flakes and cook on medium heat until the anchovies melt into the oil and the garlic is brown. Set aside.
4. Now add your spaghetti to the boiling wine, give it a good stir and finish
cooking the pasta until al dente, another 6 or 7 minutes.
5. When the pasta is ready, the wine will have infused the spaghetti, giving it a gorgeous ruby color. Don’t worry about the wine being too strong for the sauce. The alcohol will burn off and leave a sweet delicate taste. Drain spaghetti from the wine, toss in the frying pan with the garlic-anchovy sauce, and finish cooking for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with a bit of parsley and some grated pecorino.
Serves 4
Recipe excerpted from La Dolce Vita Cookbook by David Rocco. Published by HarperCollins Canada Ltd. Copyright 2008 by David Rocco. Excerpted with permission of HarperCollins Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book now!