SPAGHETTI WITH BROWNED BUTTER & MYZITHRA
Oh. my. gosh.
If you've ever been to the Old Spaghetti Factory you've no doubt ordered this. If not...WHY not?! It's so good.
As a teenager on a date with my future husband to the Spaghetti Factory in Seattle for the first time, I ordered this thinking it would be pasta in a cheese sauce - which sounded great in itself! When the plate was placed in front of me I was less than impressed.
But one bite cured me and quick. Amazing!
It's super easy to make and kids love it. The hardest part is waiting for the butter to brown...
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1 pound thin or regular spaghetti (try it with whole wheat or quinoa pasta!)
1 cup butter
1 cup finely grated myzithra cheese (see below)
Freshly cracked black pepper
Cook spaghetti according to directions on package. While pasta is cooking brown the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Just add it to the pan and let it go, don't stir or anything. It will melt, foam, and right after foaming start to brown. (Takes a few minutes.) You will see the color rising from the bottom. Remove from heat immediately and pour over warm pasta, scraping out and including the browned bits.
Toss with the cheese and black pepper. Serve.
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Myzithra is Greek cheese and comes in three varieties. For this you want the aged, hard one, usually sold in small rounded wedges in bigger grocery stores. It grates into fine, almost powdery shards, but doesn't melt, and will keep it's shape and appearance in this dish.
Photo: Springbank Cheese Co
