Dirty martini pasta

Celebrate new years with a martini-themed pasta! I had to try this dirty martini pasta I saw on my feed. Gin martinis are my favorite drink. I love briny green olives, and I'll take any excuse to add funky cheese to pasta.

My favorite martini has one blue cheese stuffed olive and one garlic and jalapeno-stuffed olive. So to make this pasta my own, I added a few chopped pickled jalapenos and blue cheese to the mix. Most recipes called for parmesan instead, so if that's more your speed, feel free to use that instead! This was a fun, easy pasta to make with pantry ingredients! Cheers!

1 lb. spaghetti
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced or sliced
1/4 cup gin
2 T vermouth
1 c. pitted Castelvetrano or other firm green olives in brine, sliced
1/4 c. olive brine
2 T chopped pickled jalapenos, plus a 1 T of their brine, optional
lots of black pepper
2 T lemon juice
2 T butter
crumbled blue cheese or grated parmesan, optional

Boil spaghetti until just shy of al dente. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil for about 30 seconds. Add liquor, bring to a simmer, and reduce for about 3 minutes. Add olives, brine, and jalapenos and brine, if using, and black pepper. Simmer and reduce for as long as it takes to cook the pasta.

When pasta is just shy of al dente, drain thoroughly and add it to the sauce mixture. Cook over low heat for a few minutes until any remaining liquid is absorbed. Stir in lemon juice and butter. Serve topped with blue cheese or parmesan if desired.