Possibly misplaced. Maybe the dish celebrated the Flying Spaghetti Monster, deity of a recently made-up religion. I relished the idea of slurping spaghetti while wearing an upside-down colander, in the style of the Pastafarians. Not flying, my friend corrected, crying.
I checked the source, the menu of a restaurant called The London Plane. The noodles, bolstered with browned lamb and brightened with fresh lime, seemed to be crying from a surfeit of red peppers — much like the Thai beef dish, crying tiger. Crying spaghetti, I noted, lacks spaghetti.
Inspiration enough to compile a made-up version. This one twirls crisp hazelnuts, fresh herbs and spicy pepper paste into a heap of bucatini. Ample reason for happy tears.
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CRYING BUCATINI
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Makes: 6 servings
1 cup hazelnuts without skins
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground lamb
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 to 4 tablespoons Thai red pepper paste (fermented or roasted)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
Kosher salt
1 pound bucatini
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 cup each, coarsely chopped fresh: mint, cilantro, basil
1. Roast: Roll nuts onto a rimmed baking sheet. Slide into a 400-degree oven, and roast until golden and fragrant, shaking once or twice, about 8 minutes. Coarsely chop. (A food processor cuts down on fugitives.)
2. Brown: Heat oil in a wide skillet over medium-high. Drop in lamb and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until just browned, about 5 minutes. Scrape into a colander to drain off fat. Return meat to the skillet. Lower heat to medium. Stir in garlic, pepper paste, tomato paste, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, 1 minute.
3. Boil: In a large pot, cook pasta in salted water until tender but firm. Scoop out 1 cup cooking water. Drain pasta.
4. Combine: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add lime juice and 3 tablespoons of the cooking water. Boil, 1 minute. Add nuts. Cook, 30 seconds.
5. Serve: Toss hazelnut sauce with cooked pasta. Add lamb and toss. Add herbs and toss. Taste for salt. If pasta looks dry, add a little more of the reserved cooking water. Enjoy.
Provenance: Vaguely inspired by The London Plane restaurant, Seattle.
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