This TikTok-Inspired Dirty-Martini Pasta Is Happy Hour and Dinner in One

Vodka, gin, green olives, and lemon: when most people see these ingredients, their mind goes straight to a dirty martini. For Emily Eggers, however, the combination also screams pasta. Eggers, who goes by @legallyhealthyblonde on TikTok, recently shared a recipe for a dish she coined "dirty martini pasta," and the video is quickly racking up views. The base of the TikTok-famous dish includes all the components of the classic cocktail, but transformed in a way that makes sense for a pasta with the help of a few extra ingredients.

To make dirty-martini pasta, Eggers starts by lightly sautéing garlic, lemon zest, and olives in some olive oil. She then pours in a few tablespoons of olive brine and gin (which she notes can be substituted for vodka if you prefer vodka martinis), as well as a knob of butter. Once the alcohol cooks out, Eggers adds cooked pasta before tossing it all together and seasoning with salt and pepper. Dirty martinis are usually garnished with either olives or lemon peels, but Eggers uses both for her pasta, plus fresh parsley and blue cheese to make it "extra dirty."

If you like drinking dirty martinis, there's a good chance you'll like this pasta. But even if you're not a big cocktail person, the flavours don't disappoint. The saltiness of the olives and olive brine is well balanced by the brightness of the lemon zest and fresh parsley. The addition of alcohol also brings that rich, robust taste you normally get from pasta alla vodka, while the butter gives the sauce just enough creaminess without making it too heavy. Finally, the blue-cheese garnish adds a sharpness to bring everything together while still letting the olive flavour shine.

Clearly, all the components that make dirty martinis taste so good can have the same effect on pasta. To make this dish, check out Eggers's full recipe for dirty-martini pasta below.

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Dirty-Martini Pasta

Emily Eggers, TikTok user @legallyhealthyblonde

Ingredients

1. 150g pasta
   1-2 cloves garlic, minced
   5-7 Castelvetrano olives, pitted
   1 tablespoon lemon zest
   1-2 tablespoons olive brine
   2 tablespoons gin or vodka
   1 tablespoon butter
   Salt and pepper to taste
   1 tablespoon chopped parsley
   1-2 tablespoons blue-cheese crumbles

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat water for pasta. When it's boiling, add the pasta, stirring occasionally.
2. While the pasta cooks, lightly mash and chop the green olives.
3. Add olive oil to a pot over medium heat.
4. Sauté garlic, lemon zest, and crushed olives.
5. Pour in vodka or gin and olive brine, and stir, cooking for a few minutes while the alcohol evaporates.
6. Melt in butter, and whisk until emulsified.
7. Add cooked pasta, and season with salt and pepper.
8. Garnish with more olives, lemon zest, parsley, and blue cheese.
9. Serve, and enjoy!

Information

Category

Main Dishes, Pasta

Yield

2 servings