Drink yourself silly this week-end: on pasta!
He's not called the Prince of Pasta around town for no reason. Chef Mitch Orr might belong to the celebrity rat pack of talented young Sydney chefs, but this guy's got some serious cooking chops- just look him up. But during this go-slow Covid-19 time, Mitch is spreading the love by posting simple recipes on @instakrill .... while our family knows and loves Mitch's food well, the picture of Drunken Pasta arrested everyone's attention. So we put it to the test last night. Make it, eat it, get drunk on it- Drunken Pasta is incredibly delicious. We ate ours with a pile of blistered cherry tomatoes, and topped with toasted breadcrumbs and chopped parsley. I reckon it would be amazing topped with a slow cooked beef cheek, or some intensely garlicky fat prawns....
Drunken Pasta, et voila!
Drunken Pasta by chef Mitch Orr
1 bottle of red wine (I used a cabernet sauvignon)
1 teaspoon or so of dried oregano
1 packet (500g) good quality spagetti
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine or sliced
2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes
1 generous tablespoon butter
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Place the butter, garlic, chilli, oregano and a pinch of salt in a generous frypan (I used a wok), sauce over a medium heat.
2. At the same time, start cooking your pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add a good slosh of red wine to the pan (I would say about a cup), be careful as the alcohol might flambe.
4. Add the spaghetti to the wine. (Save the pasta water.)The more undercooked your pasta, is the more wine its going to want to drink. We're going to let the spaghetti finish the cooking process in the wine. (Meaning, pour the rest of the bottle of wine into the pan of spaghetti and cook gently, tossing every now and again.)
5. By this stage, your pasta should be almost cooked. If it still requires more liquid, add some of the saved pasta water. You could be decadent and open another bottle...Keep up this process until the pasta is al dente.
6. At this point, add a generous drizzle of evoo and give it a final toss before serving warm.
In Mitch's words:
You'll probably need another bottle open by this point. Pour yourself another glass or just neck it from the bottle. Plate your pasta, get into a slurring d&m with it and pass out on the couch.
Note: Probably best not served to kids......! Also, I substituted the butter with olive oil for our resident vegan.
