Fusilli

Black Garlic Cheddar Sauce

The Pasta
Fusilli is one of those shapes that brings a wave of childish nostalgia across your face whether it’s paired with Velveeta or white truffles. Fusilli, the original corkscrew, was created in Southern Italy by wrapping dough around a dowel like a cavatappi or busiate. In America we use fusilli and rotini nearly interchangeably, but I think of our fusilli as a little bit larger and the ridges a little more spaced out than a typical rotini. I like it as a shape because of the heavy sauce to pasta ratio it can carry with it, making each bite a drop zone of saucy goodness.

The Recipe
Black garlic are a magical ingredient, these fermented flavor bombs bring earth, sweet, bitter, and funk to anything it touches. They are like a pungent overcooked soft version of unripened figs. This recipe comes from the idea of creating a dish that captures the same nostalgia in flavor as the shape does in visual memory. Borrowing from the English countryside and one of my favorite dishes the welsh rarebit, this recipe creates a dynamic pairing between a mild a cheddar and biting black garlic. The bonus is if you have any sauce leftover (which you won’t) you can pour it on top of some crusty bread or just drink it through a rubber hose.

Servings: 4 - Time: 30 mins. - Difficulty: 1 - Itsa Easy

Ingredients & Mise en Place

16 oz. fusilli
2 heads of black garlic - peeled and diced
12 oz. cheddar
1.5 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
dry white wine
sea salt
pepper

Directions

Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add in the flour and create a light roux, as such, do not let the color go beyond golden. Next add in the heavy cream slowly and bring to a simmer. Slowly add the cheddar in, stirring frequently to not let it get chunky. Add in white wine to taste - about a 1/4 cup should work. Salt and pepper to taste, and stir frequently as the pasta cooks.

Cook the pasta for about 12 minutes or until al dente. Once cooked, remove from heat and reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water and then strain.

In a large deep sauté add the pasta and black garlic. Then add in the sauce and the pasta water stirring to incorporate. Let the black garlic do it’s thing, some of it will remain chunky and some of it will dissolve into the sauce. Both things are great.

Divide into four portions and serve.