Dirty Martini Pasta Sauce

Inspired by the dirty martini cocktail, Dirty Martini Pasta Sauce is luscious, rich and surprisingly simple to prepare. The shallot and garlic melt into the sauce and the gin and dry vermouth are reduced to their herbaceous essences yet not lost in the final thick, creamy sauce. Dirty Martini Pasta sauce pairs well with pasta shapes which can hold the sauce, we recommend penne rigate, rigatoni, cavatappi, gemelli, or radiatore. We suggest an appetizer of Fresh Figs and Prosciutto or Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad, followed by Dirty Martini Pasta Sauce with one of the recommended pastas, accompanied by a lovely, dry New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  Buon Appetito!

Prep Time: 20 minutes, Total Time: 40 minutes. Serves 2.

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Ingredients:

• 1 Shallot, minced, approximately 1 Tb
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced, approximately 1 tsp
• 2 Tbs Unsalted Butter*
• 1 Tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 10 Pickled Jalapeno slices, drained and minces, approximately 1 Tb
• 10 Queen-size, Pimento-stuffed Green Olives*, drained
• ½ tsp Ground Coriander
• ½ cup London Dry Gin
• 3 Tbs Dry (White) Vermouth
• ½ cup Heavy Cream
• ¼ cup Grated Parmesan and Romano Cheeses
• 3 oz dry Pasta per person

Preparation:

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
2. Mince the shallot and garlic, combine and set aside.
3. Mince the pickled jalapeno slices, slice the olives into approximately 4 or 5 thin rounds per olive, combine in a bowl, sprinkle the ground coriander over them and set aside.
4. Add your pasta to the boiling water, stir and cook until al dente.
5. Combine unsalted butter and olive oil in a wide, deep frying pan over a medium heat.
6. Add the shallot and garlic to the pan and sauté uncovered until just beginning to brown.
7. Add the pickled jalapeno, olives and ground coriander to the pan, stir the ingredients together and sauté uncovered for an additional minute.
8. Add the gin and dry vermouth to the pan, raising the heat to high and allow the sauce to cook uncovered, reducing the liquid volume by half.
9. Add the heavy cream and continue to cook, uncovered, again reducing the volume of the sauce by half.
10. Drain your cooked pasta well. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, stir to coat the pasta with the sauce and remove from the heat.
11. Add the grated cheeses, mix gently but thoroughly and serve Dirty Martini Pasta Sauce immediately.

*Notes:

• Unsalted butter is absolutely required due to the salty olives and pickled jalapenos.
• You can substitute smaller pimento-stuffed green olives but the large Queen-size olives provide a better visual element and a better “bite” when eating Dirty Martini Pasta Sauce.