Color Me Domestic - Red Wine Capellini

Pasta is always an easy base for any meal and can be combined with nearly anything you can imagine. Seafood, chicken and almost every vegetable will flawlessly pair with the pasta of your choice. And, what can be easier than boil water, add salt, cooking pasta, rinse and serve?

Color Me Styled found a way to elevate your pasta standbys with this "peppery absorption-cooked red-wine capellini" dish from Michael Natkin's debut cookbook, Heriboracious. Earlier this summer we met Michael at Heaven on Seven in Chicago for a vegetarian's delight of snacks and great conversation between foodies.

Yes, we cooked dinner at 9:30 but it was a Friday night in if that helps.

The absorption method might seem odd and frankly, scary, to those of us who have the boil, salt, cook, rinse and serve mantra down pat but it is super easy and adds this rich flavor to the pasta itself. This dish is is flavorful and peppery and great for a date night in.

Vegan peppery absorption-cooked red-win capellini (serves 4 or two with left-overs)

Ingredients
 - 1 lb capellini
 - 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
 - half a large white onion, thinly sliced
 - 6 garlic cloves, minced
 - kosher salt
 - 1 1/2 lbs zucchini diced (about two medium zucchinis)
 - 1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch lengths
 - 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
 - 1 tbsp smoked paprika
 - 1 tsp black pepper
 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
 - 2 tbsp fresh oregano
 - 1 tsp fresh rosemary
 - 1 1/4 cups red wine (we used an inexpensive Spanish Tempranillo), plus additional
 - 1 1/4 cups water, plus additional
 - minced fresh flatleaf parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 375. Break the capellini into approximately 3-inch lengths and spread on a baking sheet (no oil or cooking spray needed). Slide into over and toast, tossing occasionally with tongs until golden brown. About 10 minutes.

Measure out the 1 1/4 cups of wine and then pour a glass for yourself and your cooking buddy. Make sure there is at least 1/2 cup remaining in the bottle. Cheers. 

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot (at least 5 1/2 quarts) with a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and a pinch of salt and cooking for about 5 minutes (the onions should soften but not brown). Increase the heat to medium-high and add the zucchini and another pinch of salt. Saute until the zucchini is well browned, about 5 more minutes.

Place the toasted noodles on top of the zucchini mixture. Layer the asparagus and 1 cup of the cherry tomatoes on top of that and sprinkle the smoked paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oregano and rosemary. Pour the red wine and water over the top and toss as best you can with tongs. It is tricky to toss it at first because the pasta is stiff. Return the heat to medium and cover the pot.

Every 2-3 minutes, toss the pasta (and cover again) for a total of 8-12 minutes. Toward the end, taste a noodle each time you remove the lid to see if it is done. If you run out of liquid left on the bottom of the pot, add a bit more water or wine about 1/3 cup at a time.

When the noodles are cooked to your liking, transfer to serving bowls. Garnish the pasta with the remaining cherry tomatoes, parsley and another grind of pepper. Serve immediately.

This dish is vegan as described but you can add some Parmesan cheese to the top if you like. But, we suggest trying it without the cheese first to get the true flavors of the dish. And for those of you who think no meal is complete without a meat portion, we encourage you to try this vegan dish. You won't miss the meat, we promise.