Pickle fans love taking what is supposed to be an accent—a sour and pungent adornment—and forcing it into a main role. We’ll try any pickled-flavored snack that comes to market, be it a simple potato chip or something more elaborate like these pickle pups (which, full disclosure, weren’t very good). So when I pitched this pickle pasta to my editor, Joel (a fellow pickle freak), it was almost a joke...but just almost. I had experienced delicious success with cucumber pasta, grilled pickles, and caramelized pickle dip, and was fueled by hubris.
I expected this pasta sauce to be fun, but I did not expect it to be nuanced, balanced, and utterly delicious. Pickles are an aggressive food, but when gently sautéed in butter with a little bit of sugar, they mellow out considerably, simmering down into a slightly sweet mass of deeply savory, buttery cucumber. It’s an umami bomb for sure, but more W54 than Tsar Bomba.
The recipe for pickle pasta is almost identical to the recipe for cucumber pasta, with a few notable differences. I omitted the salt and garlic, because the pickles I chose already had a fair amount of each. I also added sugar to balance the salt and vinegar. And that’s the complete ingredient list: Pickles, butter, sugar, and spaghetti. If you have those four things, you can make pickle pasta.
You’ll begin by shredding or finely chopping the pickles. I had originally planned to shred mine in the food processor but couldn’t find the shredding attachment, so I pulsed them using the regular blade attachment. Once you’ve broken down the pickles into tiny pieces, all you have to do is cook them over medium-low heat with a little sugar and in lots of butter until they give up the little water they have left and the vinegar mellows into something sweeter and more welcoming. Toss with starchy pasta water and your noodle of choice—I recommend spaghetti—and dinner is served.
How to make pickle spaghetti
Ingredients:
9 ounces kosher dill pickles (I used 1 drained tub of Trader Joe’s Kosher Dill Pickle Spears)3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter2 teaspoons sugar8 ounces spaghetti (You may not use all of it, depending on your preference for pickles.)Parmesan cheese, if you desireCoarsely shred or chop your pickles—a few pulses in the food processor should do it. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium saute pan and melt over medium heat. Add the pickles and the sugar, stir thoroughly, and reduce to medium-low. Cook for 35-45 minutes until the excess moisture has evaporated. If they start to look dry and stick to the pan, add another tablespoon of butter. You may see a liquid pooling here and there, but that’s fat from the butter, and it will look quite different than thin, steaming water.
While the pickles are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add your spaghetti. Cook according to package instructions, shaving off a minute of the cook time. Once the pasta is just shy of al dente, reserve 2 cups of pasta water, drain the pasta, and set aside.
Give the pickles a taste. They should be savory, buttery, and a little sweet. If they still taste aggressively vinegary, cook for a few more minutes. Once ready, add 1/4 cup of pasta water and stir to emulsify. Add about half the pasta, along with another 1/4 cup of pasta water, and toss. Add a little more pasta and toss again until your pasta is dressed to your liking, adding small amounts of pasta water as needed to keep things saucy. (I didn’t use all of my spaghetti, probably about 6 ounces, because I like things pretty pickle heavy.) Garnish with parmesan cheese and enjoy immediately.
