Ingredients
1 lb. spaghetti
1 c. reserved pasta water
2 tbsp. chili crisp
2 1/2 tbsp. butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/3 c. cilantro, roughly chopped
Kosher salt to taste
Serve alongside Coca-Cola®
Preparation
Step 1Boil a large pot of generously salted water. Once boiling, cook pasta to al dente (according to package directions). Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta and set aside. Step 2Return pasta pot to medium-high heat. Add in the chili crisp, butter, and garlic. Once the butter has melted, add the scallions and sauté until sizzling and a slightly golden (about 1 minute). Step 3Slowly add in the pasta water, a little bit at a time, stirring quickly so that it absorbs into the chili mixture and forms a sauce. Step 4Add the cilantro and pasta and toss until the spaghetti is well-coated. Salt the pasta to taste and serve immediately.
Ever since Emily Malan and John Bollozos met in art school in 2009, they’ve had creativity in common. The Los Angeles-based couple—Emily, a photographer, and John, a video director—are “constantly bouncing ideas off of each other,” says Emily. That collaborative dynamic carries over into the kitchen, where Emily’s adventurous style of cooking always finds a willing taste-tester in John. “We make a great team,” says Emily. “He’s a little more by-the-book when it comes to recipes, but he loves to try the dishes I come up with.” One of her recent experimental triumphs is an ode to a favorite spice: Sichuan chili crisp. Created on a whim mid-pandemic with the spare ingredients in her fridge, and fine-tuned to her and John’s tastes (“We can never get enough garlic,” Emily admits), the ultra-quick pasta recipe is a simple yet satisfying way to liven up a busy weeknight. Read on to discover how Emily’s go-to condiment adds depth to a flavorful dish that’s perfect with an ice-cold Coca-Cola and a summer sunset.What’s your favorite element of this recipe?Chili crisp is definitely the superstar of this dish. When I first tried it, I used a whole jar in less than two weeks! Now, it’s a must-have staple in my pantry. It’s got a tingly kind of spiciness that builds as you eat, then the onion and the cilantro brighten up the mix and balance out that spice. What makes this dish a winner in your house?We’ve tried recipes from restaurant cookbooks that say they’ll take 45 minutes, but they end up taking hours! We have a busy lifestyle that involves lots of traveling and long days on set for shoots, so sometimes we just need something that’s straightforward and convenient to cook. If we’re having a busy week, we love a meal that we can easily throw together in one pot and dish up. Quick and delicious is the best combination. Do you have any tips for experimenting in the kitchen?I think it’s all about working with what you’ve got. If a recipe calls for one kind of vegetable but you know that you have something else in the fridge, don’t be afraid to try it out. Poke around in the pantry before you start cooking, and see what you come up with. Some of the best recipes come from trial and error. It’s also a great way to take a no-waste approach to cooking.
