Midnight pantry pasta, or “la spaghettata di mezzanotte” is an Italian institution. This is the meal you make in your apartment after a night on the town, when you’ve just got to have some carbs. No two iterations are exactly alike, but the spirit remains the same: take whatever you have in your pantry and turn it into an immensely satisfying pasta dish. Now, any self-respecting Italian always has anchovies, capers, and chili peppers on hand. Together, they form a savory, addictive condimento that hits the spot. If you’re stocking your pantry with our top-notch ingredients, you know you’re in for the best midnight pasta of all time. We love spaghettoni for this recipe since those thick strands make for a particularly starchy, creamy sauce. But of course, regular spaghetti is perfectly acceptable.
Ingredients
TIME: 20 minutes
SERVES: 2
- Spaghettoni, 200g
- Coarse sea salt, to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil, 3 Tbsp
- Garlic, 1 clove, finely minced
- Chili peppers in extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp or to taste
- Capers in sea salt, 1 Tbsp, rinsed and coarsely chopped
- Anchovies in extra virgin olive oil, 4 fillets
- Fresh parsley, 1 Tbsp, minced
Preparation
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the coarse sea salt, and begin cooking the spaghetti. Be lenient with the salt, since the capers and anchovies will bring plenty of saltiness to this dish.
- Meanwhile, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a separate pan. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so. Then, add the chili peppers, the rinsed and chopped capers, and the anchovy fillets. Stir until the anchovies dissolve, then turn off the heat.
- Drain the pasta when it’s 2 minutes away from al dente, reserving a cup or so of pasta water. Turn the heat back on under the pan with your condiments and add the spaghettoni. Add a hefty splash of reserved pasta water and stir everything together. When the pasta’s finished cooking and the sauce is creamy, turn off the heat and add the minced parsley.
- Divide between plates and serve immediately.
