Garlic Spaghetti
This is a spaghetti dish with a butter sauce served with toasted garlic and fried parmasan cheese. Toppings can include chopped, stir-fried mushrooms, green and or red peppers, cooked shrimp or even fresh made bacon bits. Writing out the recipe is much harder than making it.
Spaghetti as required.
1 egg per two servings of pasta
2 bulbs fresh garlic
olive oil
butter
parmasan cheese, fresh, shredded or granulated. Not powdered.
Fresh ground pepper
Fresh or dried basil, crumbled or very finely chopped.
Thinly slice the cloves from 1 1/2 bulbs of garlic.
Heat a small frying pan, (cast iron or non-stick work best), add about 1 tsb olive oil and toast the garlic over medium heat until golden brown stirring or tossing constantly. The garlic taste becomes milder with cooking but feel free to reduce the quantity as desired.
When done remove from pan, set aside on a side plate or condiment bowl and add parmasan cheese to same frying pan. The aim is to gently toast the cheese, fresh parmasan may cake, that's fine since once it's toasted golden brown and removed from the heat it can be crumbled once cooled and also set aside.
The crumbled fried cheese and toasted garlic are your garnishes.
Meanwhile, if you desire the vegetable/shrimp topping, chop the vegs, you want about 1/2 cup uncooked per serving since mushrooms will shrink in cooking. Use cooked shrimp 50-60 per pound work fine but make sure they are fully thawed if previously frozen. Make sure too they are drained and patted dry.
Butter Sauce
In the same pan used for the garlic and cheese, add butter to taste, about 1/3 cup for two servings but the quantity is flexible, and melt over low heat. Using a garlic press or knife blade, crush the remaining garlic and add to butter. Add pepper and basil to taste but the butter should take on a greenish colour thanks to the herb. You may also add some more granulated parmasan cheese, perhaps two tsb or so; it makes the sauce thicken a but.
While all this is happening you have brought the water to a rolling boil and are ready to cook the pasta according to package directions or personal taste. Have the egg(s) and a colander standing by, once the pasta approaches done, things will happen fast.
When the pasta is about 2/3 done, add a few drops of cooking oil (seasoned oil works great) to another frying pan and stir fry the veggies over very high heat; it only takes a couple of minutes. Also, turn up the heat under the butter but ensure that it does not start to burn but it's important that the butter be a hot as possible. When veggies are done to taste, add the shrimp, toss and remove from burner, the shrimp need only be warmed.
Quickly drain the now-cooked pasta in the collander and return immediately to the empty cooking pot. Break the egg onto the pasta and add the now boiling butter sauce, the heat of the spaghetti and the butter will cook the egg as you toss the mixture with a large pasta fork.
Serve, add toasted garlic and fried cheese to taste and veggie/shrimp mix as desired.
Caeser salad makes a fine accompanying course.
Share with someone who also loves garlic and have a portable defibulater standing by or your local cardio unit on speed dial.
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