Before I get into my pasta dish, I have to tell you a little bit more about this pasta. Cabernet flour is made from the milled pomace (i.e. leftover grape skins) of Niagara wineries. The flour is really healthy and rich with iron, fiber and antioxidants. Baker Rachel Klemek began using the Cabernet wine to make brownies, pastas and pizza dough for some cooking classes at her bakery, Blackmarket Bakery, in Irvine, California. The flour became so popular that she started Marche Noir (French for "black market") to sell the flours, the brownies and a dry version of the pasta in stores and online. The fettuccine caberneti was super easy to order online and I even received a few emails from Rachel herself about my order!
The pasta comes in a really gorgeous package. The pasta is a deep purple and almost black color and it smells ever so faintly like wine!
I really wanted the pasta to be the highlight of the dish so I decided to make a simple dish that has been on my list of dishes that I've wanted to make in my kitchen - pasta carbonara. I've always been hesitant to make this because it is not the healthiest dish but the fettuccine caberneti seemed like the perfect excuse to indulge! I found a really simple Bon Appetit (May 2000) recipe on Epicurious and I was on my way!
First, I set my pasta water on the stove to boil with a generous dash of salt. I got to work on everybody's favorite ingredient - bacon! I chopped up ten slices of thick-cut smoked bacon and added it to a skillet with a tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat. Like I said, this is definitely not your healthiest meal but here are some gratuitous bacon photos for your enjoyment.
The bacon actually took awhile to crisp up and I found that the butter was completely unnecessary as we had to drain the skillet several times of the bacon grease to help the bacon crisp up. In complete honesty I'd have to say that I made Bret drain the bacon grease because it really started to gross me out. When the bacon was done cooking, Bret put the bacon on a paper towel lined plate to soak up the grease while I whisked together the creamy sauce consisting of heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, four egg yolks and a few tablespoons of the bacon drippings.
When the pasta was done cooking, I drained the pasta and the pasta water was such a beautiful purple color and smelled faintly of wine. I'm not sure if it is because of the Cabernet flour or not but the pasta was a bit more sticky than usual. In hindsight, I wish I added a drop or two of olive oil to my pasta water as the fettuccine cooked.
I returned the pasta to the pot and added the sauce. The pot was on the stove at medium-low heat as I tossed the pasta to make sure it coated evenly. When the sauce was cooked through, I added the bacon to the pasta. We had way too much bacon and only used about half of it. The pasta was plated and topped with some additional grated Parmesan cheese and a few pieces of chopped bacon.
Overall, I was very happy with the dish. My pasta carbonara was a bit more grainy than I would have liked but I think part of the reason it was so noticeable was that it contrasted dramatically with the fettuccine's dark hues. But it tasted wonderful with the rich creamy sauce and the light taste of wine in the pasta. In fact, this dish was so decadent that Bret and I made sure to eat a large bowl of salad (using Olivia's Organics 50/50 blend, cucumbers, grape tomatoes and goat cheese) to cut the richness of our dinner.
I was proud of my first attempt at pasta carbonara and I was thrilled to finally use this really interesting fettuccine caberneti. I think it is a perfect gourmet to add to a gift basket for any wine lover.
What would you make with pasta made from wine?
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