Tagliatelle with Oranges & Almonds

3 large navel oranges

1 stick of butter

1 ½ cu orange juice

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 – ¼ tsp ground pepper

1 pound Tagliatelle or Fettuccine or Linguini

3 Tbs sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

2/3 cups grated parmigiano

1 cup whole blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

Sauce – can be made night before:

Remove zest from orange in long thing strips. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and cool in water.

Melt butter over medium heat. Stir in ¼ cup orange juice and 2/3 cup sugar. Stir with spatula while adding more orange juice to keep sauce from crystallizing. Reserve 1/3 cup. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn heat to medium-high and stir while mix turns amber. (About 2 minutes.) Once this occurs, stir in pepper and 2/3 zest. Remove from heat. Immediately pour in remaining orange juice – it will splatter so be careful.

Cook pasta in normal manner until al dente. Reserve some of the pasta water. Toss in skillet with sauce. Sprinkle remaining ingredients after you place on the platter or put in a serving dish.

Notes: “Yeah, a bit of madness.”

Michael