Dabiz Muñoz’s cooking is characterized by being fun, authentic and playful, so much so that he can leave some collateral victims along the way. In this case, we are not talking about anything other than the feelings of Italians when they see how the owner of DiverXO outrages the preparation of something as simple as pasta cooking water. And Muñoz has decided to add olive oil, as explained in a recipe published on his Instagram profile, but what is the gastronomic idiosyncrasy of a nation to go against the best chef in the world?
According to Italian orthodoxy, boiling pasta with olive oil creates a film that lengthens the cooking time and will prevent it from absorbing the flavor of the sauces later. This is a rule that all mothers in Spain have challenged for decades, since in our country this ingredient has been used as a trick to prevent the pasta from sticking. Dabiz Muñoz continues this tradition, but clarifies that the role of oil has more to do with the pasta cooking process itself than with the final cooking result.
On this occasion, Dabiz Muñoz prepared a recipe inspired by minutejos sandwiches, a classic Madrid montadito with ear and spicy sauce that his father prepared for him when he was a child. More than 650,000 users on Instagram have already seen why the chef adds olive oil to the cooking water to prepare the pasta ‘Agus style’. As you already know, oil is less dense than water and always remains on top. That is why, Muñoz reveals, the oil creates a film that will prevent the foam generated when boiling the pasta from overflowing the pot and causing damage to the ceramic hob.
This recipe consists of a spicy pork rind ragout, which replaces the pig’s ear, and is sautéed with olive oil, garlic, carrot, chili, natural tomato, red wine, saffron, salt and pepper. The chef leaves the pasta al dente for 5 minutes and then finishes cooking it over the rest of the ingredients. Muñoz gradually adds the excess water from cooking, which allows him to take advantage of the salt in the mixture itself, as well as the starch of the pasta which, together with the Parmesan cheese and butter, helps bind and thicken the sauce.
