Valerie Weingart is a senior English and vocal performance major and writes "Wein and Dine" for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Valerie at vjweingart@bsu.edu.=
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For the third installment of "Wein and Dine," I decided to tackle an interesting twist on a dinnertime standard: red wine infused pasta. I’ve seen this particular recipe pop up on my Facebook newsfeed from time to time, and I had my doubts about how well this would turn out. Would it be an innovative improvement to plain pasta? Or a tragic waste of wine?
This week’s recipe: Tasty’s Red Wine Spaghetti
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 1 bottle full bodied red wine (I used cabernet, and don’t buy anything expensive)
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan
- 1/2 cup flatleaf Italian parsley (make sure you chop this up well)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Measure 1/4 cup of wine and set aside.
2. Combine the water and the remainder of the bottle of wine (about 3 cups) in a large pot and bring to a boil.
3. Once boiling, add spaghetti and cook (stirring frequently) until al dente, about 7 minutes.
4. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and drain the spaghetti. Set aside.
5. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the reserved cooking liquid and 1/4 cup of reserved wine to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Add the pasta and toss to coat with the sauce.
7. Add the butter and stir until it melts into the pasta.
8. Add salt and pepper, parmesan and parsley and stir to combine.
9. Serve on its own or top with more parmesan and parsley.
The Good: The red wine really does make a difference. Not only does it smell incredible while the pasta cooks, but the red wine infuses the pasta with delicate, yet noticeable flavors. The red wine I used was medium dry, which resulted in slightly sweetened pasta — but, not too much that it was overbearing. Tasty’s recommendation of red pepper flakes add a bit of spice to the dish, which I appreciated. This recipe can also be altered in a variety of ways — with the red wine pasta as the base, changes can be made to the kind of cheese, herbs or spices. The next time I make this, I’d like to try it with goat cheese and pine nuts.
The Bad: Not really bad, depending on one’s taste, but this isn’t the most exciting of dishes. At its core, it’s still pasta, so I would recommend using it as a complement for another component of the meal (I had chicken with mine). The flavors are wonderful, but I can imagine that, if this were a meal by itself, it could leave one wanting more.
The Verdict: Interesting and tasty, but definitely not a stand-alone dish. Make as much or as little as you like, and customize it with your favorite flavors and cheeses.
Happy eating!
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