Louella Berryman

I’ve been loving this spaghetti recently, with looming essay deadlines and a tonne of reading to do this simple dish has been amazing at keeping me full.  It’s so delicious and I honestly can’t stop eating it.  You can use whatever pasta you like, I’ve even had this as a kind of tomato risotto using orzo pasta – completely delicious, by the way.  You can add some roasted red onions and squash to this dish too, its so versatile and leaves lots of room for whatever you have in your fridge.  I serve this spaghetti with just black pepper and extra virgin olive oil, simple and delicious.  I’ve also put the picture of the finished dish at the end of the recipe instead of at the beginning this time after a few suggestions, so I hope this is better for your viewing purposes!

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Serves One:

Enough spaghetti for one portion

1/2 a can of chopped tomatoes (I’ve used a few fresh because I had some to use up, but I usually just use canned)

1/3 of a courgette

2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 a teaspoon sugar

1/2 a teaspoon salt

black pepper

fresh parsley

optional: more black pepper and extra virgin olive oil

Simple Spaghetti Method

Put a small saucepan on a medium heat with some salted water in and leave to boil.  Meanwhile, finely slice the garlic and add to a frying pan with a little olive oil and fry until pale yellow, then finely slice the courgette and add to the pan, frying for a few more minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t catch.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and turn down the heat.  I also like to add some tomato puree at this point, but don’t worry if you don’t have any it’s not essential.  Once the water is bubbling gently, add your spaghetti to the pan and cook according to packet instructions.  Turn down the heat a little and add the salt, sugar, paprika and black pepper then simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced a little.  If the sauce reduces too much then add a splash of water to thin it.

Once the pasta is cooked add it to the sauce pan using some tongs and mix it into the sauce. Chop some of the fresh parsley and add to the pasta.  Pile onto a plate and garnish with more parsley, black pepper and olive oil. So simple and so delicious, perfect comfort food. Enjoy!

As always, I love to hear from you so please let me know what you think or leave any questions in the comments.