Spaghetti With Red Wine Sauce

Submitted by FLKeysJen

"From Mark Bittman's "Quick and Easy Recipes" from the New York Times. The pasta takes on a fruity acidity from the reduced wine--smoothed by the last-minute addition of butter--and a beautiful mahogany glaze. This is a good side dish to a grilled meat or fish."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 lb spaghetti
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon red hot red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 1 (750 ml) bottle light red wine (like Chianti Classico or a good red Zinfandel...a quality wine, but not necessarily expensive)
• 1 tablespoon butter

directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the oil, garlic and hot pepper in a large, deep skillet.
2. When the water boils, add the pasta; turn the heat under the skillet to high. Cook the pasta as usual, stirring. As soon as the garlic begins to brown, sprinkle it with salt and pepper to taste and add three-quarters of the bottle of wine (a little more than two cups); bring to a boil and keep it there.
3. When the pasta beings to bend--after less than five minutes of cooking--drain it and add it to the wine mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding wine a little at a time if the mixture threatens to dry out completely.
4. Taste the pasta frequently. When it is done--tender but with a little bite--stir in the butter and turn off the heat. When the butter glazes the pasta, serve it immediately.

Reviews

[whtbxrmom]

I had a friend that was wanting a wine bottle for a craft project and an opened bottle of wine in the fridge. So I made this for dinner to use up the wine. Because it was opened, I was short a little on the wine, but I just used a little of the pasta water. I did have to add more of the pasta water as it cooked down. I also added extra garlic, which is a must in this house. Perfect week night meal. I had all the ingredients on hand. It was quick and easy to make and everyone enjoyed it.

 

[rosslare]

Simple and elegant side spaghetti. So unusual! I used strong red wine, couldn't believe it but the spaghetti really "drank" all that wine, and got wonderfully coloured and flavoured spaghetti.

 

[2Bleu]

I made this for a quick lunch today (reduced to 2 servings) and we really enjoyed the combination of flavors. It is important when making this recipe to have all ingredients measured and ready as it comes together rather quickly. The wine adds a nice tanginess and goes well with the garlic and red pepper flakes. Thanks for posting this quick and elegant dish.