Cheap & Spicy Pantry Spaghetti Recipe (Better Than Jarred Sauce)
Amuse-Bouche
Recipe Style: A quick and easy weeknight meal for when your pantry is looking sparse and you’re cooking on a budget
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Dietary Notes: Vegetarian but easily vegan if you remove the parmesan
Golden pan-tossed spaghetti coated in a rich, glossy tomato paste glaze, flecked with aromatic garlic, caramelized onions, red chili flakes and a vibrant scatter of freshly torn garden basil.
My favorite meal right now is also one of the most affordable recipes I’ve ever come across and I am genuinely irritated I didn’t know about this in college because it’s cheaper and tastes way better than the dollar jars of sugary spaghetti sauce I used to stock up on.
Aromatics make this recipe - onions, garlic and spices, so use liberally because as always - people didn’t die in the spice trade for you to underseason your food.
Ingredients
Mouthy Girl Pro-Tip: The cool thing about this recipe is how easily mutable it is. Got some cherry tomatoes getting wrinkly? Throw them in at the same time you toss in the garlic. Ditto zucchini, mushrooms, spinach or chopped black olives if you’re doing a Puttanesca kinda thing.
Spaghetti: Enough for 2 people (whatever that serving looks like in your house).
Onion: 1 medium, finely chopped.
Garlic: 3 cloves, finely chopped.
Tomato Paste: ½ of a standard small can (grab one at Aldi for $0.79).
Olive Oil: A solid, generous glug to heavily coat the bottom of your pan.
Spices: Fennel seeds, kosher salt, black pepper, and crushed red chili flakes (to taste).
Fresh Basil: A handful, freshly torn (pro-tip: buy a live pot at Home Depot and leave it in a sunny-ish spot; it's a tenacious little guy).
Grated Parmesan: Optional, if that's your bag (which it should be unless you’re vegan in which case, vegan parm is a thing)
Directions
Step 1: Salt Your Water
Boil a pot of salted water to cook your spaghetti. Some people will tell you that the water needs to taste like the ocean and I am here to remind you there is a wide gulf between the ocean and the Dead fucking Sea. Throw in a tablespoon of salt or so. You don’t need more than that.
Step 2: Bloom Your Spices
While the water boils, heat your olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Toss in the fennel seeds first to let them bloom and perfume the oil. Bloom your spices and listen to Bruce Springsteen - it’s my holy gospel.
Step 3: Do Sweat The Aromatics
Add the chopped onions to the pan. Let them cook for about ten minutes until they become translucent. Once they're soft, stir in the chopped garlic, salt, black pepper, and chili flakes.
Step 4: Add the Pasta
Check your water. Is it bubbling and boiling like a proper witch’s cauldron? Cool. Drop in the spaghetti. Don’t break it in half... or do. I don’t care. I’m not a nonna or a cop. Cook until almost al dente.
Step 5: Kitchen Witchery
Back to your pan with the aromatics. How is everything looking? More importantly, how does it smell? Amazing? Excellent - add half a can of tomato paste and stir.
Now, this is the important part - you paying attention? The pasta should be almost cooked at this point and it’s merrily bubbling away in a cauldron of starchy, salty water.
Grab a ladle and carefully pour a ladleful of the pasta water into the pan with your aromatics. Stir like crazy to incorporate the tomato paste into the water. Within a few minutes, alchemy will happen and you will have a sauce. A silky, spicy, delicious sauce.
Step 5: Toss and Finish
Use a pair of tongs to transfer the spaghetti directly from the water into the sauce. Toss the spaghetti with the sauce so every strand gets a glossy lacquer. Turn off the heat, garnish with a mountain of fresh basil and parmesan, and serve immediately.
Mouthy Girl Pro-Tip: Serve as is with a big glass of red wine or if you’re a heretic like I am, you can fire up the head in the pan and cook until the spaghetti chars and gets all crispy Spaghetti All’Assassina style. Next time around, I'm adapting this into a Pasta alla Norma style, adding cubes of roasted eggplant and blobs of fresh ricotta.
