Angel Hair Pasta
Published July 9, 2024
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
Salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
Crushed red pepper (optional)
1 pound angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
93 grams carbs; 24 milligrams cholesterol; 660 calories; 13 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 24 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 633 milligrams sodium; 17 grams protein; 7 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a large pasta pot of salted water to a boil.
- Step 2
To a large pan over medium heat, add olive oil and butter. Allow the butter to melt, then add cherry tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are beginning to soften and the skins are a little blistered, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Step 3
Add garlic, shallot, 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and black pepper, and a pinch of red pepper, if using, and toss to combine with the tomatoes. Cook for about 6 minutes, until the shallots are translucent and the tomatoes are fully softened yet still intact. Meanwhile, add pasta to the boiling salted water and cook until al dente according to the packaging directions, about 2 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then strain the pasta.
- Step 4
Add the cooked pasta, herbs and a bit of the reserved pasta water to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine, until you have a glossy pasta sauce; add more pasta water slowly, if needed. Serve topped with plenty of Parmesan.
Private Notes
Comments
Close, but a miss. Do yourself a favor and make the noodles slightly more undercooked than al dente, and also add very-ripe tomatoes in the instructions. Why? When you add the semi-cooked pasta and cook it in the sauce, it will finish cooking and soak up the sauce+seasoning. This imparts the savorfy seasoning and flavor into the spaghetti noodles.
This was good but, as others have indicated, the pasta to tomatoes ratio is way off. If using 1 lb of pasta as called for by the recipe, I would recommend 2lbs of tomatoes. Also, I doubled the shallots (b/c I like shallots) as well as the herbs.
Throw in an anchovy or two with the garlic to up the umami.
Dried basil and parsley are worthless and should never be in a recipe, even as a substitute. Basil is widely available in summer. But if you still can't find it, use Italian flat leaf parsley. Fresh dill could also be used.
This is a great recipe. I halved the recipe. We used fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, and parsley from our garden. My only additions were a little more salt, garlic, shallots, and a squeeze of lemon juice. It came together perfectly. Next time I might add some sautéed shrimp scampi style.
This has become a staple in our house and my kid devours it but I double the tomatoes, shallot, garlic, and herbs and add a cup of pasta water at the end. I also use thin spaghetti instead of angel hair and add it to the sauce after the spaghetti is done cooking. I made it the first time and followed others suggestions to double the veggies and herbs and my husband LOVED it and especially loved the shallots in it. I sent the recipe to him a different night to make and forgot to tell him to double everything and he was wondering where he went wrong because it didn't taste the same. We've had this on its own, with some crusty bread on the side, with rotisserie chicken, one night with sweet italian sausage. It tastes okay as written but is fantastic when the vegetables and herbs are increased.