Lemon Pepper Pappardelle: Pasta Perfection Part 3

My favorite restaurant here in La Jolla is Piatti.  I've celebrated many of my life's milestones there: we held our rehearsal dinner for our wedding at Piatti, and I've celebrated several birthdays and our first wedding anniversary there as well.  The restaurant has a charming candle lit patio where you dine al fresco under a huge ficus tree (very romantic).  But what really keeps me coming back time and time again is a heavenly pasta dish that they make called Pappardelle Fantasia.  This delectable pasta consists of a saffron pappardelle in a white wine, garlic, and tomato sauce served with shrimp.  I love this pasta so much that if I could eat it every day, I would.

When I was living in Salt Lake City for five years, this pasta was one of the things that I missed most about San Diego.  I wrote to Bon Appetit's RSVP column (a feature in the magazine where readers write in with stories about their favorite restaurant meals and the magazine asks the chefs to share the recipe) several times, pleading my sob story about how my favorite dish was now three states away and how I desperately wanted the recipe so I could recreate it at home, all to no avail.

I'll never know if my story was not intriguing enough to stand out amongst the hundreds of submissions to the column or if the chef simply refused to share the recipe.  Whatever the case, in the end it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it forced me to be creative in the kitchen and try to recreate the dish on my own.  I admit that I never quite mastered the exact nuances of the restaurant's dish, but now that I'm back in San Diego, I can go to Piatti whenever I please.  And on the nights when I'd rather eat pasta on the couch in my p.j.s (which is more often than not) , I can whip up this pasta which comes in as a close second to the Fantasia.

Lemon Pepper Pappardelle

1 8 oz package of lemon pepper papparedelle (if you can't find flavored pappardelle, use regular noodles)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 cloves minced garlic
1 15 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water
fresh basil and parmesan (as a garnish)
(for a non-vegetarian version, you could top this pasta with chicken or shrimp)

Bring salted water to a boil in large pan and cook lemon pepper pappardelle until al dente according to package directions (Trader Joe's sells a great one, pictured here):

While pasta is cooking, melt 2 Tbsp unsalted butter over medium heat.  Once butter has melted, add minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes:

Add diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, white wine and pasta cooking water and simmer until mixture reduces by about half:

Add pasta and remaining 1 Tbsp of butter to tomato mixture.  Cook until butter melts and toss noodles to coat:

Plate and granish with fresh basil and freshly grated parmesan: