Recreate Restaurant Fare - Skinny Sketti" My Quest

...it wasn't as easy at it sounded.

Several years ago, I found myself frequenting a particular restaurant because of basically one dish on the menu – a pasta dish called “Skinny Sketti”. This restaurant is a fine establishment with some great ideas but it did have drawbacks: the floor space was minimal, the acoustics were horrible and the wait time outrageous. And unfortunately, the busier the restaurant becomes, the more the quality of service nosedives.

Taking my own advice (see Eating Out, The Media is Making our choices ), I decided to see if I could recreate the recipe for “Skinny Sketti” at home since the chef wouldn’t give up the recipe. It took several tries before I got the exact match but I do love the dish so I kept at it.

Basically it is very thin spaghetti served with a garlic, basil sauce and accompanies certain steaks on their menu. The steak was no problem, the “sketti” was a challenge.

1lb angel hair spaghetti type pasta (cooked according to package directions)

1 stick of unsalted butter

3 tablespoons fresh basil (parboil for 3 minutes and pat dry)

3 cloves of fresh garlic

Melt the butter in a saucepan, press the garlic cloves over the butter, add the basil and simmer for a few minutes, let stand for at least 20 minutes then drizzle the sauce through a sieve over the spaghetti and toss. Serve hot along side a grilled steak. Garnish with grilled vegetables (we prefer cherry tomatoes and summer squash which add a bright quality to the plate). Serve with warm crusty bread. Easy and restaurant quality!

I realize it looks easy but I have to say it took several tries before I got it right. I realized up front that they must have been using a sieve since there wasn’t anything to see except the spaghetti, this is what made it a little more challenging. I found that salted versus unsalted butter makes a difference, as does fresh versus dried basil. Lastly I worked with the garlic and realized on my third try that they were using pressed garlic as there was all the taste but you couldn’t see any of the pieces and even through a sieve I was getting pieces of finely chopped garlic which burns in the butter. I only parboil the basil to remove some of the green color but if you don’t mind it, feel free to skip this step, the taste isn't affected either way. (Remember I was trying to recreate it exactly as the restaurant served it.) Letting the sauce stand, just gives it time to really blend the flavors without scorching the butter. You may have to reheat it slightly before tossing. Lastly, in tossing the sauce with the pasta, it should create a light coating and not be dripping in the plate.

Hope you enjoy this personal favorite. It goes well with most grilled meats and the vegetables add just the needed touch.