Spicy Brown Butter (Pantry) Pasta

I’ve been seeing lots of spicy spag dishes around and wanted to make my own version. This dish is the perfect base for any meal. Whether you want to eat it on its own, add veg, some kind of animal protein.. the world is really your oyster. The base recipe is fragrant and super flavourful, but stays quite basic, so that it tastes nice, whatever you add to it.

Serves: 2

Prep/Cook Time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients

200g Spaghetti or long pasta

50g Butter 

1 Tsp Fennel Seeds

3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

3 Tsp Calabrian Chilli Paste

40g Parmesan, finely grated.

1 lemon

Method: 

1. Place of pot of salted water on to boil. Once boiling, cook the pasta 2 minutes under al dente (check the package to find out how long).

2. Meanwhile, place a frying pan with high sides onto medium-high heat. Once hot, add the butter and cook stirring, until browned - it should smell nutty and it should’ve stopped foaming. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the fennel seeds and garlic, cook until the fragrant. Then, stir the  Calabrian chilli paste in. Remove from the heat.

3. Using tongs, transfer the pasta into the brown butter mixture, and put on a medium-high heat. Once hot, ladle in some pasta water and cook, vigorously stirring, until the sauce has emulsified together and looks creamier, adding more pasta water to make it saucy.

4. Remove from the heat and toss the Parm through, making sure to vigorously mix it in, add more pasta water if it needs loosening. Taste and season with salt and lemon juice, if needed.

5. Serve immediately.