Oyster Spaghetti

Preparation

In a large Dutch oven, bring six quarts of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside, reserving 2-3 cups of the pasta water.

Pour oil into sauté pan—just enough to cover the bottom—and heat over medium.

Add celery root, capers, and garlic. Watch the heat—you don’t want to brown the garlic at all. Reduce temperature if needed. Gently cook for one minute. Add bacon.

Deglaze pan with lemon juice, adding a few splashes of pasta water—this is the beginning of the sauce, so you don’t want the lemon juice to evaporate entirely. You should have around a half-inch of liquid in your pan.

Add cooked pasta and oysters, and turn the heat up slightly. As your sauce begins to reduce, add butter and a dash of pepper, tossing to incorporate. Simmer until the sauce has reduced enough that it coats all the noodles. It should not look greasy or oily. If needed, add a few more splashes of pasta water to the pan to help keep the sauce together.

Serve immediately, garnishing pasta with breadcrumbs and roughly torn parsley leaves. The pasta should already be seasoned, and the oysters are naturally salty, so this dish really doesn’t need salt.