Limiting myself to only two bowls.
I was so excited to try this viral pasta recipe. I noticed many differences in the ways people were making it. Some used regular green olives (over Castelvetrano), others omitted the blue cheese, some used vodka instead of gin, almost no one included the splash of vermouth, and one even did it in the microwave (yikes)!! I am a purest who loves big bold flavors, so I took all of my favorite elements from the recipes I read and developed my ultimate dirty martini pasta.
One of my other tweaks was to use bucatini instead of spaghetti. I think this elevates the dish slightly. It also holds onto the sauce a bit better.
If you like blue cheese, don’t be afraid to add it! It’s definitely a specific flavor, but it adds a uniqueness to the dish. I loved the tang I got by melting some of the blue cheese into the sauce as it cooks. I opted for this method over a sprinkle on top of the finished dish. I thought it might be a bit too intense that way. Melting it into the sauce gave it a deeper dimension and that hint of sourness.
All in all, this was a winner for me. Don’t be afraid to really go for all of these flavors in a bold way. Warning: excessive consumption may lead to extreme happiness. Bottoms up!
Dirty Martini Pasta With A Twist
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb spaghetti or bucatini (half a package)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup green olives (Castelvetrano are recommended)
- 1/3 cup olive brine
- 1/3 cup gin
- 2 tbsp dry vermouth
- 2 tbsp cold, unsalted butter (cold)
- 2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
- 2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water and according to the package. *Save 1 cup of pasta water.
- Zest the lemon and rough chop the olives, finely chop the parsley.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, olives and lemon zest. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Slowly add the gin and vermouth. Cook until reduced by half. Stirring frequently.
- Whisk in the olive brine, and gradually add the cold butter, whisking until melted and thoroughly combined. Add the blue cheese stir until dissolved. Add some of the parsley and the black pepper, incorporate.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine very well. If sauce isn’t velvety enough, add some of the pasta water and stir again.
- Garnish with lemon zest, crumbled blue cheese if you like, and the chopped parsley.
