Want Prettier Pasta? Swap The Water For This Boozy Drink In Your Dough

No meal seems more quintessentially Italian than a heaping plate of pasta and a nice bottle of wine. After all, Italy is not only known for its iconic noodles, it's also one of the top wine-producing countries in the world (taking top honors in 2024, according to the International Organization of Vine and Wine). But what if you combined these two national staples into one epic, beautiful dish? Enter pasta all'ubriaco, or drunken pasta.

Don't get too excited — this red wine-infused pasta won't give you a buzz, or even taste much like wine at all. But the booze does give this dish a lovely reddish hue and a rich, slightly sweet flavor that will surely have you coming back for seconds. For more on how to make this colorful dish, Chowhound spoke exclusively with Jasper J. Mirabile Jr., the chef-owner of Jasper's Italian Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, and host of the popular radio show "Live! From Jasper's Kitchen." Mirabile says he has only ever seen all'ubriaco-style pasta in Tuscany, but it's easy enough to recreate in your kitchen.

Often, we see spaghetti all'ubriaco recipes where the pasta cooks in red wine. However, Mirabile also tells us that you can achieve a gorgeous result by making fresh pasta dough and replacing the water in your recipe with red wine. "Personally, when I prepared this dish, I didn't think it really affected the texture, but for sure, I never used eggs when preparing," he says. "All I used was 00 flour, a nice Chianti, and sea salt."

If you're a novice chef, making pasta dough from scratch can sound scary enough, let alone incorporating such a major ingredient swap. But making pasta dough can actually be incredibly easy, and only requires two main ingredients: flour and water, or in this case, wine. When it comes to mixing your dough, Jasper J. Mirabile Jr. says, "Use the same amount of red wine as you would water." Skip the egg, he advises, and add just a touch of salt. "Avoid using too much flour to dry it out, as it becomes a little too gummy, especially because you used wine," he notes.

Though in Tuscany, this dish is typically made with bucatini or spaghetti, Mirabile says, "I have made it with tagliatelle and it looks really nice on the plate." As for how to serve your pasta all'ubriaco, he suggests pairing it with a lamb ragu or bolognese sauce, or alternatively, letting the flavors shine with a simple topping of butter and grated Parmesan.

If red wine isn't your jam, there are other ways to add a colorful twist to homemade pasta or liven up the flavor of your dough. Along with colorful fruits, veggies and spices, Mirabile provides a few other liquid suggestions. He is particularly fond of white wine for its versatility, and loves using lemon juice to make pasta. "I've also used milk before and substituted that for water and made a great fettuccine," he says. "I serve it with sautéed prosciutto ham and melon. It is so flavorful."