I'd been itching to try this recipe since it came
out in October's Gourmet . I am a
sucker for alchemy cuisine, anything that rises or changes color or shape and turns into something else, so the idea of
purple wine-soaked spaghetti thrilled me. This recipe is basically a version of my favorite broccoli and ziti standby,
only with the addition of red wine. I had assumed before reading the recipe that the noodles would be boiled in the
wine but it was actually a process that involved parboiling both the pasta and the broccoli.
The wine is added to the partially-cooked pasta. The fun part is watching it slowly change color as you boil it. The recipe calls for a red zinfandel, and you could probably use any red, but I think a heavier wine like a zinfandel or a cabernet sauvignon adds a nice purple hue. I was curious to see if it would taste wine-heavy. It definitely had a wine taste although it wasn't overpowering.
Overall I'm not sure if it added enough bang for my buck to cook pasta this way again, but it was fun for novelty's sake. One caveat to those who are making this recipe is to have extra wine on hand if you want to recreate the deep purple shown in the Gourmet article. It's definitely festive for the holidays.
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