Based on the The Boston Globe Magazine, Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven, 2004 October 24
Serves 4.
Set the oven at 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix the cubes of bread with enough oil to barely coat them. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet.
Toast the cubes in the oven, turning them often, for 20 minutes or until they are golden and crusty. Remove the croutons from the oven and set them aside.
Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a large flameproof casserole, heat the oil and, when it is hot, add the butter. When the butter melts, cook the fennel over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or until it softens. Add the garlic and chili pepper and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the raisins and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.
Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and let the water return to a boil, stirring often. Cook the pasta for 8 minutes or until it is tender but still has some bite. Dip a heatproof measuring cup into the pasta water and remove 1/2 cup.
Drain the spaghetti into a colander and transfer it to a serving dish.
Add the fennel mixture, 2 tablespoons of pasta cooking water, and the parsley. If the mixture seems dry add a little more cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time. Serve at once.
Notes: Haven't tried it yet.
And I think one way or perhaps two; it doesn’t matter //
as long as one can slip by, and easily //
into the questioning but not miasmal dark. //
Look, here is a stance--- //
shall you cover it, cape it? I //
don’t care he said, going down all those stairs //
makes a boy of you... //
-- John Ashbery, from "From Estuaries, from Casinos" (Hotel Lautréamont 1992)
This page was last modified on 2011 December 20.