Luscious Linguine

photo courtesy of Mike 

Ok, so here's my step-by-step recipe for an amazing pasta dish called Luscious Linguine.  I did not make the name up just so that's clear, although it is very luscious indeed.  In fact, the story behind this dish is that for years and years I totally turned my nose up at it.  My dad found this recipe when I was in high school, and it quickly became one of my parents' favorite meals.  I however found the idea of combining raisins, almonds, and tons of garlic quite revolting and would make myself a sandwich whenever this dish graced our dining room table.  Finally, just a few months ago, I was at my parents' house for lunch and my mom served none other than the dreaded Luscious Linguine.  I was really hungry and grateful that I wasn't at home making lunch, so I took a bite.....and that was all it took.  It was SO good!  I'd been missing out on this amazing pasta meal for over a decade!  So if the combination of ingredients in this meatless (possibly vegan if you leave out or substitute the parmesan cheese?) dish scares you, my advice is:  just try it!  It truly makes a scrumptious meal.  It will cause some serious garlic breath though, so beware!

In an ode to The Pioneer Woman's cooking section of her blog, here are the cast of characters:
Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

4  whole cloves of garlic, plus 2 cloves minced 

12 oz. dry linguine pasta

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup dark raisins

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 tsp. red-pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan cheese, optional

croutons (make your own if you're fancy or buy some at the store if you're like me)

1. Heat oil in a large, heavy pot over low heat.  Add the whole garlic cloves and cook until they begin to color, about 10 minutes.  Remove oil from heat and discard the garlic.  This step helps give the olive oil a nice infused garlic flavor. Warning:  do NOT let garlic burn.  Once you do this it tastes bitter and there's no turning back.  Just start over if that happens.  

2.  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook the pasta until tender.  Drain and place in a large serving bowl.

3.  While the pasta is cooking, add the minced garlic, raisins, almonds, and red-pepper flakes to the reserved oil; place the pan over low heat.  Cook until the garlic just turns golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.  Again, don't let the garlic burn!

 Here's a pic of step 3.  I turned the heat up to med-low and just kept a good eye on it!  

4.  Add the oil/raisin/garlic mixture to the hot pasta along with the chopped parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.  Toss very well.  Top with grated parmesan cheese and croutons if desired!  

That's it!  A nice salad would finish this off perfectly I think (although I didn't have time to make one Sunday night).  I hope some of you are brave enough to try this out!