the forgotten cheese of my childhood
when i was young, my dad would make me pasta with brown butter and mizithra cheese... a classic dish. it was probably my favorite pasta dish for years, but somehow i forgot entirely about the lovely mizithra cheese! it's been years since i've had the dish, and my tastes have changed (i can't seem to go a meal without veggies)... so here is my new take to this old childhood favorite:
for the pasta:
spinach spaghetti
unsalted butter
greek mizithra cheese, finely grated
olive oil
1 head of garlic, peeled
cherry tomatoes
fresh basil
sea salt and pepper
to time the cooking right, i first roasted peeled garlic with olive oil, wrapped in foil (450 degrees for about 25 minutes or until lightly brown). while the garlic is roasting, bring a large pot of water to boil with salt. in another small pot, brown a few table spoons of butter, heating slowly and stirring often until color becomes dark caramel-like. once the garlic finishes, mix the garlic cloves and their oil with the brown butter. let cool. then spread your cherry tomatoes out on a foil covered tray, and spray with olive oil to coat. toss your pasta in the boiling water, and then throw the tomatoes under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes start to pop and blacken. in the mean time, grate the mizithra cheese. once everything is finished, toss your cooked pasta with a bit of the brown butter and olive oil mixture. top with whole garlic cloves, whole roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, sea salt, cracked pepper, and of tons of mizithra!
i just love the way the light mizithra clings to my pasta! yumm!
