Posts tagged ‘spaghetti’

Aug 30

Spaghetti Puttanesca

So you’ve just read the title to this post. I can actually hear a shocked gasp among my readers – you haven’t seen a savory recipe at The Sweetest Kitchen in a very long time! How strange! Well, I just want to prove to you that we do really eat foods other than cakes and cookies in this house. It’s just that I prefer blogging about the sweet foods!

Last week I picked up a new delicious. magazine; September 2010′s issue. There was a recipe inside for spaghetti puttanesca, which is a dish I’ve been wanting to make for the past few months. Since the recipe was now in one of my favorite magazines, I wrote down the ingredients list and immediately went out and stocked my pantry with semi-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and anchovy fillets. These ingredients aren’t something I’d normally keep in the pantry, but the rest of the ingredient list is normal for our pantry/refrigerator.

What took longest in making this dish was the preparation. The cooking was simply a breeze, couldn’t have been easier. The house smelled amazing while the sauce was cooking in the frying pan; I’m sure you could have smelled it from the street had you been standing outside. I’ve never, ever eaten anchovies (to my knowledge), so I was looking forward to trying this and wondering how they would taste.

May 17

14 Comments

Spaghetti With Mushrooms And Garlic

This is one of my all-time favorite ways to enjoy spaghetti. My husband originally found this recipe while looking for truffle recipes. That original recipe used olive oil, garlic, parsley, basil and truffles tossed with spaghetti. But since truffles aren’t readily available and are quite expensive, the truffles can easily be substituted with another mushroom. I’ve previously used button mushrooms; this time I used baby portobello mushrooms.

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The recipe is really easy and is one of those that you can’t really screw up. You can add all the ingredients based on your own tastes. I’ll post a basic recipe, but note that I can’t give you the exact amounts because I never measure them!

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The flavor of the mushrooms really stand out in this dish; it is the most prevalent taste, followed by the garlic and herbs. A sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese finishes off the taste really well.

Spaghetti With Mushrooms And Garlic
Serves 2-ish

Ingredients
2 servings uncooked spaghetti (maybe a little more?)
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
1-1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1-1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, or button, finely chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese

Method
In a medium saucepan or skillet, add olive oil, herbs, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, uncovered, over low-medium heat until it begins to simmer; remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. Toss with mushroom mixture until thoroughly coated. Serve with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.

If I have leftover olive oil after plating, I usually just toss it out after making sure there are no more chunks of garlic and mushrooms.

If you try this, let me know. It’s been my favorite for years!

Apr 3

3 Comments

Chili Spaghetti

For years, the only way I knew how to eat spaghetti was with a tomato-based sauce. Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods, and when I realized that it didn’t have to have that tomato-based sauce, I was ready to branch out and try new things with my spaghetti.

I haven’t made this recipe for a while, but when I saw the picture I took of it way back when in my Flickr photo set I was reminded of how much I enjoyed this particular spaghetti.

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This is chili spaghetti and the recipe comes from a Jamie Oliver cookbook. I no longer have the book (it’s stored away with my other possessions in Sydney for now), but I think it was the book titled Jamie’s Kitchen.

Chili Spaghetti
Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients
1 pound dried spaghetti
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
olive oil
1-2 fresh red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 good handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (I toss in the leaves whole, for that rustic appearance)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
While cooking the spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente, fry the garlic in a couple of good glugs of olive oil until softened. Add the chilies, drained pasta and parsley. Toss to coat, season and serve.

Just a reminder on the chilies – try to wear rubber gloves if possible while chopping chilies, and if not possible, then wash your hands thoroughly immediately after chopping (i.e., do not touch your eyes or other parts of your skin). Also, if you’re looking for more mild chilies, choose larger ones; if you want a hotter chili, choose smaller ones.

Mar 31

2 Comments

Spaghetti & Meatballs

This isn’t the most exciting recipe you’ll find here at The Sweetest Kitchen, but I do like to blog about the yummy stuff I’ve made in the kitchen. Spaghetti is just one of my many favorite dinners, but I usually just cook spaghetti and throw a jarred sauce onto it, sometimes with grated parmesan cheese. I haven’t had spaghetti and meatballs in years, and decided that this is what I’d do with the pound of frozen ground beef in the freezer.

I just used what I had on hand, it was a totally made up recipe! And I still used a jarred sauce!

Meatballs
Adapted from myself
Makes 2 dozen meatballs, depending on how big you roll them

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons Italian breadcrumbs
1 egg

Method
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined, hands are usually best to mix this. Roll into 1-1 1/2 inch balls and place on a baking/cookie sheet. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Serve with freshly cooked spaghetti and your favorite spaghetti sauce.