Spaghetti al Vino Bianco

 

 

I have been craving all sorts of pasta dishes. I had planned on making some glorious fettucine alfredo with some homemade alfredo sauce, and then something incredibly ironic happened. I bought some fresh Parmesan at the grocery store, and it ended up rolling out of the grocery bag in the back of my car on my way home.  I didn’t realize this (as it was the only thing that rolled out), so when I went to make some more homemade alfredo sauce (which needed way more Parmesan than I had), I ended up swearing just a bit (ok, a lot) because I couldn’t find it in my fridge.  I found my receipt where I noticed I had been charged, so I just sucked it up and figured something else out on the fly with the full idea of hopefully getting a refund on the next trip to the store.  So, the other night, as I was loading the car after a “heavily productive” trip to Target (are trips to Target ever not productive?), I realized the Parmesan was just sitting there, all nicely wrapped and innocent-looking (I embellish.)  I had to laugh.  Because what actually came out of this pseudo loss of the Parmesan ended up with a pretty nice and filling pasta dish substitute.

This pasta is made with lots of white wine (with enough left over for a couple of glasses with dinner).  And cheese.  And lots of other good things, like artichokes and kalamata olives.  Oh, and pine nuts.  Throw in some fresh spinach and a few sun-dried tomatoes and you’ve got yourself a pretty decent meal.  It’s quick enough for a weeknight meal and makes enough for a few days’ worth of leftovers, too.  Add in what you like, omit what you don’t (omit the cream and Parmesan for a vegan version)-that’s the beauty of the simple white wine base here (use a drier white wine)  I halved the recipe with a ton of pasta leftover (I’m posting the halved recipe here.  If you are serving a small army, just double all of the ingredients.)  Enjoy.  With extra Parmesan on top.

 

 

 

Spaghetti al Vino Bianco

Servings:  about 4

 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

Red pepper flakes, to taste

1/2 bottle of dry white wine, divided

One 14.1-ounce can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped

1/2 pound (8 ounces) whole-wheat spaghetti

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 and 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 ounce fresh Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

 

 

 

Instructions

1. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Meanwhile, in a separate pan filled with salted water, cook the spaghetti until flexible but not fully cooked, about 4 minutes (reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water for later possible use) .

2. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the sauté pan, cooking until the garlic is fragrant and lightly golden, about 1 minute.

3. Add 3/4 cup of the white wine and increase the heat to medium-high, stirring occasionally.  Cook until the wine is reduced to about 1/4-cup, about 5 minutes or so.

4. Add the salt, and stir until combined.

5. Add the half-cooked spaghetti to the sauté pan, and, using tongs, lightly coat the spaghetti with the wine mixture.

5. Add the remaining wine, about 1/4-cup at a time, stirring after each addition.  Add in the artichokes, olives, and sun-dreied tomatoes, stirring to thoroughly combine.  Cook the pasta until it is al dente, adding some of that reserved pasta water if necessary.

6. Add the spinach in small batches, stirring after each addition, until all the spinach is added and wilted. (Again, add some of that pasta water if the pasta looks a bit dry.)

7. Add the heavy cream and Parmesan, stirring until combined.

8. Divide the pasta among your serving bowls and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

 

Source:  Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.