Drunken Tuscan Pasta

Drunken Tuscan Pasta

 

Drunken Tuscan Pasta now who can’t love the title of this dish?

Whether you are cooking for yourself or a family I believe that the hardest thing to find are different recipes for pasta or chicken.

So it is always nice to find a pasta recipe like this one that is easy, tastes good, and is different from what we usually make and maybe just a little naughty!

Just kidding of course because the alcohol will burn out when the water boils much like when I bake my wine cookies for the holidays.  The taste of the wine remains but it’s legal for everyone to enjoy and eat.

Here is the recipe  for this dish made my way of course for

Drunken Tuscan Pasta

¾ cup of red table wine (I am using Clementi Chianti)

Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

1/4 lb pasta or spaghetti (I don’t like spaghetti because I don’t like the challenge of getting the spaghetti on the fork that’s why I use rigatoni for this meal most of the time or birds nest pasta that I can cut up quickly)

3/4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (I found a nice size bottle of extra virgin olive oil at Aldies for only three dollars. It’s worth the investment because you will use it over and over again it and it will go a long long way)

¼  lb deli-sliced pancetta (this is an Italian bacon. with such spices as nutmeg, fennel, peppercorns, and garlic, A little spicier  than bacon but yes you can use bacon instead if you prefer. If you’re not a big carnivore like me then you can get away with 1/16 of a pound translated instead of using four  ounces use one ounce of the meat)

1 portabella mushroom cap, thinly sliced (yes use any mushroom you can afford but try for just one portabella if you can ).

1 clove of garlic chopped or 1 teasp of jarred garlic (yes you guessed it the garlic is from the dollar store)

A pinch of red pepper flakes (from the dollar store but if you don’t have any them add a drop or two of Franks Red Hot Sauce)

½ teasp of Italian spices. (Always available at the dollar tree)

¼ teasp of Rosemary. (if you don’t have it don’t worry I just have it on hand because I do a lot of Italian cooking this is a pungent herb with its needle-like leaves. They often use it to flavor meats and tomato sauce)

 1 1/4 cup chopped chard leaves or spinach or kale (I use spinach because I can use the rest of the spinach I buy in the toss salad I will make to go with this dinner)

A pinch of nutmeg (once again from the dollar tree)

1/4 cup grated parmesan  cheese (I am using shredded because I have some left from another mean if you only have the one you shake on your spaghetti in the refrigerator that’s fine too)

Directions:

Add the wine to a pot of water and bring to boil then add the pasta to cook.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add the olive oil; then chop and add the pancetta.

Brown the pieces until they are golden at the edges and transfer them to a paper-towel lined plate.

Add the mushrooms to the olive oil in the same skillet; season with rosemary; cook 6-8 minutes until deeply golden.
Push the mushrooms to the sides of the skillet; add in the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for a minute or so, then toss the mushrooms together with the garlic.

Add the greens to the pan; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
When the greens have wilted down, add a couple ladles of the starchy pasta cooking liquid to the pan; cook for a minute to reduce the liquid a little.
Drain pasta well and add it to the skillet.

Add in the pancetta and a handful of cheese to the pan; toss the pasta for a minute or so to allow it to absorb the remaining liquid
Adjust the seasonings and serve; pass the extra cheese at the table.

You’re ready to eat!

Don’t forget a nice green salad with low fat Italian dressing. Here is a hint if you are like me and find Italian dressing a little sharp to the taste adds a little surger or equal it will balance it out nicely.

I found this an easy meal to make and it cooked with in ten minutes.

I will let you in on a little secrete. Let’s say a friend comes by your home around dinner time and smells this cooking. They might say wow does your dinner smell good!  

Invite them to stay and have dinner with you.

All you need to do to make it a meal for two is add more pasta!

Then there will be plenty to go around. That’s one of the reasons I have already added extra pancetta when I made this dish not only do  I really like it but it’s also good to help stretch this pasta dinner to two meals or one meal for two people. If you chose to only add a little pancetta or bacon don’t worry  you will still be OK with the extra pasta there is plenty for both of you to have for dinner.

I hope you take the time to try the recipe I believe you will enjoy it just as much as I do.