Welcome the new year with this unusual festive dish.The ideal wine for it is a Barolo, or an Amarone, but both can be costly, so do use any dry red wine you prefer instead. The interesting tip and unique cooking method is to finish cooking the spaghetti in the wine, so it absorbs the sauce, giving a deeper flavour. As the wine cooks for several minutes the alcohol will evaporate, so don't worry about getting drunk from it. I suggest using red onions as they are sweeter, but white onions work just as well.
Time: 15 minutes.
Serves 6 as a starter, 4 as a main course.
Ingredients
● 7-8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
● 2 red onions, finely sliced
● 2 bay leaves
● Approx 400 ml dry red wine
● 2 tbsp rock/coarse salt
● 500g spaghetti
● Freshly grated pecorino or parmesan
Method
● Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan and add the onion together with some salt and pepper.
● Gently sweat the onion for about 10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the wine and bay leaves. Leave to cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
● While the sauce is cooking, cook the spaghetti with the rock salt but drain two minutes before the cooking time given on the packet.
● Add the pasta to the wine sauce and stir for a couple of minutes over a high heat, letting the spaghetti cook in the wine. If the wine is absorbed too fast, add a splash more and keep stirring until the pasta is al dente.
● Remove the bay leaves and serve with the grated pecorino or parmesan.