Drunken Spaghetti

This is one of my favorite Rachael Ray recipes. I've added a few ingredients to it to make it more filling. It's delicious and really fun for a crowd. This time I only used half a bottle of wine since that's all I had left, otherwise the spaghetti would have been a deeper purple color.

Drunken Spaghetti
by Rachael Ray

Ingredients


1 bottle dry Italian red wine

Salt

1 pound spaghetti

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 pound pancetta, smoked pancetta, or speck, chopped into fine dice

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 bundles black, Tuscan, or Dinosaur kale, thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus a chunk to shave at table

Directions

Pour the whole bottle of wine into a pasta pot and add about the same amount of water. Salt the liquid and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente. Heads up: Remove and reserve 1 cup of cooking water just before draining.

Meanwhile, heat a deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat with the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes, then add the garlic and swirl it around for 2 minutes more. Add the kale, let it wilt and then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, to taste. Add the reserved cooking liquid, drained pasta and the grated cheese. Toss vigorously for at least a full minute, then serve in shallow bowls. Pass the Pecorino to shave over the pasta at the table.

*Notes: I also added 2 diced shallots, 1 cup of chopped mushrooms and a handful of toasted pine nuts. I substituted the kale for spinach and the pancetta for proscuitto.
3-day weekend coming up. What do you have planned?