Red chile flakes (or any ground dried chiles) to taste
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley for garnish, plus more as needed
Black pepper
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Put 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet that has a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add 3 kernels of the popcorn and cover. Stay close to the stove for a couple minutes. As soon as you smell the oil and hear popping, uncover the pan and add the remaining corn.
Cover the skillet, hold the lid on, and shake the pan back and forth, adjusting the heat so the oil and popcorn smell toasty, not burning. Cook, shaking the pan almost constantly until the popping slows to one kernel every few seconds, 3 to 5 minutes. (If necessary, move the pan off the burner while cooking to cool it down fast.) Remove the pan from the heat and use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the popcorn to a bowl; sprinkle lightly with salt. If you haven’t gotten the remaining ingredients together, this pause is a good time to do it.
When you’re ready to finish the pasta, put the remaining tablespoon olive oil in the skillet over medium-low heat. When it’s hot, add 2 tablespoons of butter and the garlic. Cook, maintaining the heat at a gentle sizzle, until the garlic turns golden but not brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in a pinch (or more) dried chile, and let the sauce sit.
When the water boils, cook the pasta until it is barely tender but not yet mushy; start tasting after 5 minutes. When it’s done, scoop out and reserve at least 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot over low heat.
Scrape every drop of the sauce into the pot with a soft spatula, add about 1/2 cup of the reserved water, and stir until the pasta is coated. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and about 4 cups of the popcorn. Add the 1/2 cup cheese, the parsley, and a generous sprinkle of black pepper. Toss constantly, adding more water a little at a time, until the pasta is steaming and saucy. Taste and add more salt, chile, or pepper if you like. Serve right away, sprinkled with more popcorn, cheese, and parsley.
– Recipe developed by The Bittman Project for Bob’s Red Mill
Recipe variations
Spins on Pasta with Popcorn
Vegan. Easy peasy, won’t miss the cheesy. Substitute more olive oil for the butter and 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast for the cheese. After tossing the noodles with some pasta cooking water, taste and see if you want more.
Creamy. Instead of using the pasta cooking water to create a sauce in Step 5, use cream as you stir, starting with 1/2 cup and adding more as directed to coat the pasta with sauce. (You’ll need 1- to 11/2 cups total; or you can reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid and use that in combination with cream for a less rich sauce.) Lots of black pepper is the way to go here.
Corny. You can make it even cornier by adding up to 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels to the sauce in Step 3.
Spicy. Instead of dried chiles, use fresh red chiles (like Thai or Serano) to taste. Or season the sauce in Step 5 with a dried Italian blend, or even a curry or single spice like saffron, dried mint, smoked paprika, or cumin.
Crumby. Before finishing the sauce, pulse the popped corn in a blender or food processor until it’s pulverized into fine or coarse crumbs.
Cheesy. In Step 5, wait to add the popcorn and parsley. Instead, with the Parmesan, add up to 1 cup grated Jack or mozzarella cheese to the sauce in Step 5. Keep tossing and stirring in cooking water until the cheeses melt into the sauce and coat the pasta evenly. Then toss in the popcorn and parsley and finish the recipe.
Tomatoey. In Step 3, before adding the chile to the skillet and removing from the heat, stir 1small can (15-ounces) diced or crushed tomatoes into the sauce. Bring to a gentle bubble and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes thicken, about 10 minutes. Then proceed with the recipe.
Hearty. When you add the popcorn in Step 5, toss in up to 1 cup chopped simply cooked chicken, meat, or crumbled sausage; or add up to 4 slices cooked and chopped bacon. For hearty vegetarian options consider mashed cooked or canned chickpeas or cannellini beans.
Flexy. To avoid gluten, use your favorite non-wheat pasta. To up the fiber, try the recipe and variations with whole wheat noodles.