Friday, November 28, 2008

Spaghetti all' Elsa

Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings


Ingredients

* Salt
* 1 pound Italian imported dried spaghetti
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
* 3 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* 1/3 cup chicken stock or white wine, eyeball it
* 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (recommended: San Marzano),
plus 1 (14-ounce) can
* Several leaves basil, torn or chopped, a handful
* 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
* 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano


Directions


Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add pasta.
Cook to al dente, with a bite to it.


Heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add extra-virgin olive
oil, garlic, and red pepper and let them cook 5 minutes, garlic will
be soft and light golden. Remove garlic. Add stock or wine and stir 30
seconds, add tomatoes and combine. Season the sauce with salt, to
taste, then stir basil in and reduce heat to low.


When pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, drain the pasta then add it
back to the still-hot, deep pot. Add butter to spaghetti and toss to
melt and coat. Add half the red sauce and all of the cheese, work in a
handful at a time as you toss to combine. To serve, use tongs or a
meat fork to swirl the pasta into buttery, cheesy mounds to pile onto
each plate. Top each portion with spoonfuls of remaining sauce. Whoa,
Mama!


Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray and Elsa Scuderi

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