Hear Me Out: Spaghetti Pickle

Pickle fans love to take what should be an accent—a sour and edgy embellishment—and turn it into a starring role. We’ll try any pickle-flavored snack that hits the market, whether it’s simple potato chips or something more complex like these pickled puppies (which, to be honest, weren’t very good). So when I introduced this pickled cucumber pasta to my editor Joel (a friend who is into pickled cucumbers), it was almost a joke…but almost . I experienced delicious success with cucumber pasta , grilled pickles, and caramelized pickle sauce , and arrogance fueled me.

I expected this pasta sauce to be fun, but I didn’t expect it to be nuanced, balanced, and very tasty. Pickles are an aggressive food, but if gently fried in butter with a little sugar, they soften considerably and turn into a slightly sweet mass of very savory, buttery cucumber. This is an umami bomb, but rather a W54 than a Tsar Bomba .

The marinated pasta recipe is nearly identical to the cucumber pasta recipe , but with some notable differences. I didn’t add salt and garlic because the pickles I chose already had enough. I also added sugar to balance the salt and vinegar. And that’s the full list of ingredients: pickles, butter, sugar, and spaghetti. If you have these four things, you can make marinated pasta.

You’ll start by shredding or finely slicing pickles. I originally planned to chop mine in a food processor, but couldn’t find a shredder attachment, so I chopped them using a regular blade attachment. Once you’ve broken the pickles into small pieces, all you have to do is cook them over medium heat with a little sugar and a lot of oil until they give off some of their remaining water and the vinegar turns into something. . sweeter and friendlier. Mix with starchy pasta water and noodles of your choice – I recommend spaghetti – and dinner is served.

How to cook pickled spaghetti

Ingredients:

• 9 ounces Kosher Dill Pickles (I used 1 drained can of Trader Joe’s Kosher Dill Pickles)
• 3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 8 ounces spaghetti (You may choose not to use all of them, depending on your savory preference.)
• parmesan cheese optional

Coarsely chop or chop the pickles – a few pulses in the food processor will do it. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium skillet and melt over medium heat. Add pickles and sugar, mix thoroughly and reduce to medium-low. Cook for 35-45 minutes until excess moisture has evaporated. If they start to look dry and stick to the pan, add another tablespoon of butter. You can see a buildup of liquid here and there, but that’s grease from the oil and will look very different than liquid, steaming water.

While the cucumbers are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the spaghetti. Cook according to package directions, reducing cooking time by one minute. Once pasta is almost al dente, reserve 2 cups of pasta water, drain pasta and set aside.

Give the cucumbers a taste. They should be salty, buttery and slightly sweet. If they still have an aggressive-acetic taste, cook for a few more minutes. When ready, add 1/4 cup pasta water and stir until emulsified. Add about half of the pasta, along with another 1/4 cup of pasta water, and toss to combine. Add some more pasta and toss again until the pasta is decorated to your liking, adding a little pasta water as needed to keep it savory. (I didn’t use all of my spaghetti, probably about 6 ounces because I like them to be pretty marinated.) Garnish with parmesan cheese and enjoy right away.