I'll be the first to admit that I find Rachael Ray a little over-the-top perky and I have to be in the right mood to watch her show. When I saw her latest cookbook, Look + Cook, at the library I hesitated a little before adding it to the stack I was borrowing. And then I forgot about it. Well, not enough to earn me a library fine, but enough to give me just one quick look through before it was due. I have to say that there were a few recipes that peaked my interest. One recipe that jumped out at me was Caesar Spaghetti, and I quickly noted the recipe before I placed the book in the return basket.
Caesar Salad is a favorite around here, so I figured that these flavors in a spaghetti dish would be popular too, and I was right. It is very easy to put together and the flavors were good. I wish the sauce had been a little thicker, so I might play around with that a little. I also found that the recipe was missing the croutons that you would expect to find on a Caesar Salad. To fix this problem I cut some Hawaiian Sweet Bread rolls in half and lightly toasted them, and then gave them a nice schmear of garlic butter. Problem solved.
I did have to make a few adjustments. I looked everywhere but I could not find escarole. Suitable substitutions are kale and spinach, so I went with spinach and it seemed to work out well. Also, my daughters are not fans of little fishies (anchovies) so I omitted them and used the full tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Leftovers were good too.
Caesar Spaghetti
(Printer Friendly Recipe)Ingredients
- salt
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
- 6 anchovy fillets, drained
- 4 large cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 medium heads escarole, washed
- 1 lemon, halved
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, salt the water and then add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, according to package directions. Before draining reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water.
- While the pasta is cooking, put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the anchovies and cook until they've melted into the oil, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, stir 1 minute then add in Worcestershire.
- Shred the escarole and add several handfuls at a time, wilting the greens in the garlic oil.
- Dress the greens with lots of pepper and a little nutmeg, then squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the pan.
- Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually add the reserved starchy cooking water to temper them - do this slowly or you will get scrambled eggs.
- Turn off the heat and add the drained pasta and the egg mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add half of the cheese and toss vigorously for 1 minute.
- Dress the pasta with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and transfer to a serving dish.
- Pass the remaining cheese at the table.
