While this pasta is reminiscent of scampi, piccata and vongole, it delivers something more — a hard-to-pin-down complexity that comes from cooking the pasta not in water but in wine. Really! The pasta soaks up the wine’s layered flavors and piercing brightness, while the sharp alcohol evaporates away. Butter and anchovies round out the pasta to create a silky, savory sauce. Serve with seared chicken, shrimp or scallops, roasted mushrooms or a crunchy fennel or arugula salad.
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 anchovy fillets
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more as needed
12 ounces long noodles, like spaghetti
1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
Salt
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
1. In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven, melt the butter and anchovies over medium-high, smashing the anchovies until dissolved. When the butter is foaming, stir in the crushed red pepper. Add the pasta, white wine and 2 cups of water. Season with a big pinch of salt. Once boiling, cook, tossing often with tongs, until the spaghetti is tender, 8 to 12 minutes. If the pasta is looking dry, add ¼ cup more water. The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits, so better for it to be soupy than dry.
2. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and crushed red pepper.
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