On its own, without bringing Halloween into the picture, this is a fantastically delicious pasta. It’s simple but packed with flavor. And on a Halloween table, it’s spooky and beautiful. Perfect for an elegant Halloween dinner party!
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1/4 cup for pasta
1 small onion - chopped
4 garlic cloves - minced
1 tablespoon fennel seed
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1/4 cup red wine
1 pound squid ink spaghetti
1 cup Parmesan
Basil or thyme leaves
In a pasta pot, start to boil very salty pasta water for the black spaghetti. In a sauté pan over medium low heat, add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and fennel seed with a heavy dash of salt and pepper. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add the sausage with another heavy dash of salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat until almost cooked through. Add the red wine, bring to a boil, then simmer until the wine is reduced and meat gets nice and crispy in places - about 8 to 10 minutes. While the meat is cooking in the red wine, boil the spaghetti until al dente - keep your pasta water. Take the meat off the heat and in a large bowl toss half of it together with the cooked spaghetti, 1/4 cup of olive oil, Parmesan, and one cup of pasta water. Taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed. If it gets dry, add more pasta water. Top with the remaining meat and basil or thyme.