Sunday Supper: Wine & Food Pairing of the Week

Pasta Puttanesca with Cabernet Sauvignon

We know. Not the most obvious pairing in the world. Not even overly appealing at the initial thought of it. You’d think we’d go for something more classic, like a Chianti, to pair with this savoury, briny, salty, tomatoey pasta.

Yes, you’d think we’d do that, but we didn’t.

Related: Sausage and Sundried Tomato Pasta with Chianti

Here’s the reality of tonight’s Sunday Supper (which, incidentally, also became Monday Supper, Wednesday Lunch and Friday Supper), it’s a snap to make with whatever you’ve got on hand – and that includes wine.

Don’t get us wrong: this easy-peasy pasta is addictively delicious and wonderfully easy to throw together … but it’s also mercifully forgiving. So that means if you don’t have sundried tomatoes on hand, don’t sweat it. If you’ve got some capers, throw ’em in (we would). Wanna play with anchovies or anchovy paste? More power to you.

The point is this rustic, simple, freaking yummy dinner is a godsend for winos like us (and probably you): busy chicks on the move, who are usually super hungry, but have forgotten, or not had time, to go grocery shopping. But with a few pantry staples, we can have a civilized dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Which beats the pants off any uninspired, cold, gloppy, over-priced delivery any day.

Related: Our Holiday Entertaining Essentials

And that brings us back to the wine. Coming home late one night, and starving (the story of our lives), we whipped up this forgiving favourite. Searching through the wine fridge, it was sort of like our closets – packed full, but nothing to drink. Finally we settled on Montes Cabernet Sauvignon, a ripe and bold red wine with lots of dark fruit and savoury spice.

Related: How a $20 Wine Tastes After 16 Years

Spoiler Alert: it worked. It worked beautifully. Read to the end to get our thoughts and why and how this unlikely match could have been made in heaven.

Pasta Puttanesca

Serves 4

We called this puttanesca for lack of a better descriptor. Likely there are purists out there (purists? Of whore’s pasta? We’re pretty sure that’s irony) who will argue this is not a true puttanesca because it lack anchovies or adds breadcrumbs. However, just as the sauce was born from industrious ladies of the night needing to whip up a satisfying meal between appointments with what they had in the cupboard, this is also doing the trick for us.

What You Need:

1 package dried pasta (in this case we picked Bucatini)
1/4 c. plus 1 Tbsp olive oil
6 medium cloves of garlic, minced & divided
2 tsp red chilli flakes (or to taste)
1/2 c. sun dried black olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 c. sundried tomatoes, in oil, sliced
1 c. dry white wine
2 c. strained tomatoes
1 Tbsp dried basil
S&P
1 c. dried breadcrumbs (we like Sha Sha Spelt)

How You Do it:

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. When boiling add a generous amount of salt (more than you think you should add) and then add dried pasta, cooking until al dente (about 10 minutes) or package directions.
2. Heat a deep saute pan  over medium heat and warm 1/4 c olive oil.
3. Add 5 minced cloves garlic and saute 30 seconds to a minute until lightly golden – careful not to burn!
4. Add in red pepper flakes, sundried tomatoes and olives, stir to combine and cook through, about a minute.
5. Add white wine to pan, careful about steam or splashing. Bring to a boil and let the liquid reduce til about half.
6. Add in crushed tomatoes, dried basil and freshly cracked black pepper. (Tip: You can add in a pinch of salt here – we often choose not to as the olives and tomatoes are pretty salty, plus the pasta, once cooked should also be well seasoned from the salty pasta water. However, we don’t like to judge, so if you need more, have at ‘er.)
7. Let this cook together for another few minutes until the pasta is done.
8. Warm the remaining olive oil in a separate pan and add the last minced clove of garlic. Sauté until golden, then add the bread crumbs and a pinch of salt. Cook until toasted, tossing occasionally.
9. Drain pasta, reserve some cooking water, and add to the sauce.
10. Cook the pasta with the sauce for another minute, stirring to well coat, adding the pasta water a tablespoon at a time if sauce seems dry.
11. Divide amongst four plates, passing grated parmesan at the table.

The Wine Sisters’ Wine Pairing

Montes “Alpha” Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua Valley, Chile 2012
$19.95 Vintages 322586
This is an impressive wine for the money, with juicy power that’s built to last (check out our review of the 1999 Montes Cab here). Black fruit mix with earthy, resinous herbs, cracked pepper and a subtle soy sauce/umami note. 88 points.

How Did the Pairing Work?

Surprisingly well! As mentioned we would normally reach for a high acid red, like a Chianti, to go with tomato-based pasta dishes. However, the salty black olives brought out the rich, ripe, blackberry flavours of the wine. This Cab has fine, well integrated tannins, so it’s plump nature worked with the texture of the dish – if it had been a Cab with more fierce, astringent tannins, that could have been a problem, but the plush character of the wine didn’t fight with the pasta at all.