Pasta Piccante Divertimentio - I totally made this up!

My Italian never was good – yo hablo espanol mejor que yo hablo Italiano! I totally made this dish up in my head – like completely. Loosely translated it means “Spicy Fun Pasta.” I couldn’t think of anything and yes, I know that title is corny – but hey, what’s a brotha to do? 

Anyway – so, how about this for another quick pasta dish - sun dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil, white wine, all over a bit of linguini topped with really good Parmesan cheese. Oh, did I mention I added in red pepper flakes for a little fun? I paired this with pan seared tilapia that got a touch of cornstarch as a coating (Thanks Sunny Anderson for this tip) and the pan got deglazed with a pat of butter and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I mean – hello – what more can you ask for on a Wednesday. This was some good eating for sure. And as always – it takes NO TIME AT ALL. Wanna know what I was most surprised at? Awww – come on, ask me? 

*pauses* 

Darius T. Williams, what were you most surprised about? 

Thanks for asking. I was most surprised that the fruitiness in the white wine was absolutely divine with the lemon butter over the fish. I mean, really – there was a party in my mouth! 

Two more points to make…the first is, I tried. I mean, really – I really really tried not to add peas. But you know, something just didn’t seem right with having pasta without peas. Maybe I have a medical condition? I mean, I don’t know – but I’m sorry – I’ve just gotta add peas to my pasta. You don’t have to – but me…I think I’m sick without them. The second point is this – you will notice that there is NO BUTTER in this recipe (for the pasta at least - lol). I read a comment someone made that my food will kill you if you eat too much of it. After thinking about it – I agree. But you know, good food should taste good – and sometimes butter and cream can be your friend. I mean, not all the time – but you know, majority of the time it makes me feel really really good. Butter and Cream are my friends! Are they yours? 

The Ingredients

½ pound of linguini

3 tablespoons of really good olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of shallots (or Vidalia onions), minced

½ cup of white wine, something you’d drink

½ cup of sun dried tomatoes

8 or 9 (or more) leaves of basil

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or less if you’re a whimp)

Salt and pepper 

The Method

Prepare the pasta in “shockingly salty water.” Once done, drain and reserve. In a deep skillet cook oil, garlic, shallots, and tomatoes together on high heat until the oil becomes fragrant – about 3 minutes. Add wine and let reduce slightly. Add everything else to the pan and toss together well. Garnish with basil and a drizzle of olive oil

I added in the peas here. I swear I wasn't going to do it at first - but ya know...I couldn't resist.

The foundations of flavor - shallots, garlic, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, and white wine!

Starting this dish off right!

The ingredients for this dish. I bet you have all these in your fridge. See - pasta made simple!

Remember - good pasta begins with "shockingly" salty water!