Creamy Red Curry Pasta

Pasta and red sauce? Not your typical pairing with tomato paste. Rather, this ode to pasta alla vodka brings in unexpected levels of flavor and intensity by using red curry paste—a staple of Thai cuisine. The other fragrant ingredients like chili peppers, lemongrass, and galangal are also staples in Thai cooking. Thus, The Hubs dubbed this dish Thaitalian, since it’s a fusion of Thai and Italian cuisines.

Finishing with coconut milk and lime juice rather than heavy cream and vodka adds extra layers of complexity to the clingy, rich sauce. A little spicy, a little sweet, and absolutely delicious, this flavor-packed, pantry-friendly meal is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

In a nod to the Thai aspect, we switched out lime for the lemon.

Creamy Red Curry Pasta

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. spaghetti
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 4-oz. can red curry paste
  • 1 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
  • Thinly sliced scallion greens and lime wedges (for serving)

Directions

  1. Cook 1 pound spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute less than package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Cook shallots, thinly sliced, and garlic cloves, thinly sliced, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add red curry paste and cook, stirring often, until paste is fragrant and slightly darkened and beginning to stick to bottom of pot, about 3 minutes.
  3. Pour in can of unsweetened coconut milk and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any browned bits. Cook, stirring often, until sauce thickens enough to lightly coat a spoon, about 3 minutes.
  4. Using tongs, transfer pasta to sauce (a little water coming along is okay). Add 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, and ½ cup pasta cooking liquid. Increase heat to medium; cook, tossing vigorously and adding more pasta cooking liquid by the ¼-cupful as needed, until sauce is silky and pasta is coated and glossy, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add fresh lime juice; toss to combine.
  5. Divide pasta among shallow bowls; top with thinly sliced scallion greens. Serve with lime wedges.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Rachel Gurjar for Bon Appétit

Leave a comment