For some reason or another, I’m not really a huge spaghetti fan.  I love pasta, marinara sauce is definitely my jam, but there’s something about plain old spaghetti and marinara that really doesn’t do it for me.  Not long ago, I realized that it was actually just the shape of the noodle (for the record, I’m not big on fettucine either).  Since I had this revelation, I’ve made a bunch of new pasta dishes with various pasta shapes and my interest in pasta and sauce meals has gone up tenfold.  This is a perfect example of that.  The sauce is pretty chunky, so it needs a substantial noodle, but you could definitely use spaghetti if that’s what you like or what you have in your pantry.  We used a curly rotini (my personal favorite).

All told, this meal is really easy and fast – and while I think it would be great to take for lunch the next day, we’ve never had any leftovers to save. Oh, and it has wine in it, which is awesome because you have a great excuse to drink the rest of the bottle of wine on a random weekday!

Spicy Pasta with Prosciutto

1lb. dry rotini noodles

4 oz. proscuitto

1 onion

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup red wine

28oz diced tomatoes

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

small handful of fresh basil

Olive oil

1. Chop the prosciutto, mince the garlic, and dice the onion.  Start the water for the pasta.  Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and fry the prosciutto until browned (about 10 minutes).  Transfer the prosciutto to a paper-towel lined plate and add the onion, cooking until softened and translucent.

2. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic, and salt, stirring everything together for about a minute.  Pour in the wine and cook for a few minutes while the wine reduces.  Then add the tomatoes and simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes.  Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Chop the basil.

3. Add the prosciutto and the 75% of the cheese into the sauce and stir to combine.  Add the cooked pasta and stir everything together to coat the noodles.  Serve with the reserved cheese and basil.