I knew I used to be making a easy sauce for dinner, with good olive oil and recent tomatoes simmered till they fell aside, however as I stood within the pasta aisle, the daring, bronze-cut pastas of contemporary observe appeared an excessive amount of for it. I wanted one thing lighter. Simply then the identify — angel hair — which I hadn’t thought a lot of in years, rang as clear as a bell in my mind, dispelling all anxiousness round grocery buying. Gentle, easy, a textural symphony when your tooth chunk down by way of every strand, snapping them like bubble wrap. In fact, I assumed, how had I ever forgotten?
Angel hair seems like a relic of the ‘90s, as ubiquitous as sun-dried tomatoes and raspberry French dressing. It was touted as a eating regimen meals, a method to eat fewer carbs whereas making your plate look full, the maths of which I’m nonetheless attempting to determine. However by the 2010s, because the traits turned towards thick, handmade agnolottis and tagliatelles that gestured towards some thought of rustic authenticity, angel hair had fallen out of favor.
However haven’t you heard? The ’90s are again. And like espresso martinis and Boursin, angel hair is getting a re-evaluation. Priya Krishna and Eric Kim have already proclaimed their love for the form, and final 12 months Deb Perelman used it because the cowl picture for her newest cookbook. Now, angel hair seems to be making a sluggish return to dwelling kitchens and restaurant menus. And truthfully, it by no means ought to have left.
Angel hair is prospering on TikTok, the place many of the recipes are easy, comforting meals — mild tomato sauces, a lot of recent basil or lemon. When there’s meat, there’s shrimp scampi, or a “marry me hen” served over the noodles. It’s prevalent sufficient that meals author Helen Rosner says she’s “been influenced and [has] been shopping for it once more,” and that it seems like “the brand new stylish ‘90s pasta for positive.”
“Stylish” was the promoting level for angel hair within the ‘90s. The thinner noodles have been elegant and light-weight, favoring recent, easy sauces that have been the hallmark of California delicacies and a move of regional Italian cooking that favored Tuscany and the north. The issue was, within the fingers of most dwelling cooks, angel hair turned to mush. The form’s microscopic cooking instances imply in the event you don’t get it precisely proper you’ll be left with a goopy, congealed mess as an alternative of feeling such as you’re biting by way of the best filigree.
Or typically, the overcooking was the purpose, and angel hair grew to become related to smooth, buttered noodles meant just for kids. This has led to a palpable hatred from those that maybe grew up realizing solely the worst potential model of it. Editor Claire Landsbaum says she’s returned to the form lately, however after a breakup with somebody who hated it. “They shamed me for purchasing it, and I finally stopped. It’s potential that my aggressive love of angel hair is partially out of spite.”
Eating places throughout the nation have additionally begun returning to angel hair, whether or not due to nostalgia or simply as a result of it’s the fitting noodle for the job, particularly locations of the Coastal Italian persuasion. Faccia a Faccia in Boston serves it with sheep’s milk ricotta and bottarga. Nostrana in Portland makes use of calamari and breadcrumbs. Fausto in New York is serving it with a squid ink sauce and rock shrimp. And pop-up Giovedi in Honolulu presents a dish of angel hair with dungeness crab, salted lemon, and kani miso breadcrumbs.
Bao Tran, the chef and proprietor of Giovedi, says once they have been conceptualizing the dish, the fragile sauce meant they instantly dominated out utilizing recent pasta, as “the richness of the egg yolk would overpower the subtlety of the sauce.” As for dry pasta, “spaghetti or linguine would even be problematic, as neither would set free sufficient starch to thicken the sauce.” Angel hair was good, because it was skinny sufficient to launch a variety of starch, and would match properly with a extra delicate sauce. The noodle additionally lent itself to the Italian-Asian menu; “Angel hair may be very related in form and texture to Vietnamese vermicelli, so it felt like the proper pairing for us,” Tran says.
Erin Shambura of Fausto says it’s onerous for some individuals to recover from the “Mother’s dwelling cooking” stigma of angel hair, however that like several ingredient, it simply needs to be used proper. “I like capellini as a pleasant, luxurious base to spotlight recent and vibrant elements like seasonal tomatoes, basil and olive oil and even seafood,” he says. “The skinny strands take up sauces, guaranteeing that every chunk is flavorful.”
Tran says he recollects angel hair being bashed by the culinary neighborhood within the 2010s, however his thoughts was modified whereas working at Carbone in New York, and making their angel hair AOP, which remains to be on the menu. He realized “angel hair was rattling good, you simply must deal with it proper.” Now, his angel hair dish is among the hottest on the menu.
There are many elements that can by no means be somebody’s favourite, regardless of how impeccably ready. However there isn’t a such factor as a nasty ingredient — every part has its place. Possibly angel hair was overused and overcooked for a time however, like with something, when used proper it presents a singular, pleasant expertise. The angel hair haters can proceed to hate. However possibly you’ve been hating the unsuitable factor all alongside. Don’t hate the angel hair, hate the way in which it’s been made for you, and go get it completed proper.
