By Natasha Chamberlin
My mother created this recipe when I was only a child; it quickly became a child hood favorite. I have changed it a bit from her original recipe - personal tastes. I have introduced this recipe to my family and friends and they too agree that it is a wonderful dish full of flavors which get your taste buds screaming out for more. I would like to share my mothers recipe with you as I know she would be grateful to know others are enjoying what she has created.
Ingredients
2 large onions finely chopped
2 cloves of Garlic finely chopped
1 green pepper finely chopped
2 oxo cube
A dash of Wooster Sauce
1 yellow pepper finely chopped
1 red pepper finely chopped
1 orange pepper finely chopped
24 to 36 rashes of bacon (depending on taste) chopped in to small thin strips
250g Tomato Puree
500g Fresh Tomatoes chopped
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme
200g Spaghetti
10mls water
20mls white wine
6 large mushrooms chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of paprika
12 Fresh Basil leaves
1 table spoon olive oil or an oil of your choice
2 table spoons of butter
Cheese for sprinkling on top
Method
Firstly fill a sauce pan with water and add a pinch of salt and a table spoon of oil to the water. This helps the spaghetti to not get stuck to each other and it helps the water not to boil over. Bring the water to the boil and add the spaghetti. Leave to cook on a medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes until the spaghetti has cooked. Drain the spaghetti and give it a rinse to remove any starch or oil.
Put the spaghetti aside and then begin to prepare the sauce. First put the butter into a frying pan and heat it till all the butter has melted. Add the onions and cook until golden and soft. Once cooked put the onions into a separate bowl. Now add the bacon to the frying pan and cook until crispy. Once cooked add the bacon to the bowl of onions. You can now add the peppers rosemary and thyme to the frying pan and cook until done.
Again add the peppers to the bowl of onions and bacon. Now place the chopped tomatoes, garlic and mushrooms to the frying pan and cook until the done. Add the onions, bacon and peppers back to the frying pan with the mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes. Add the water and wine, oxo cubes, Wooster sauce as well as the tomato puree. Season with the salt, paprika and pepper and simmer on a low heat until the sauce thickens. About 2 minutes before you take the sauce off of the stove add the basil.
Once the sauce has thickened then mix the sauce in with the pasta and leave for 30 or 40 minutes. The longer you leave the sauce and spaghetti the stronger the flavour will be as the spaghetti absorbs all the flavours. Before serving heat up the Spaghetti dish and serve with a generous sprinkling of cheese and freshly chopped basil. This dish works beautifully with garlic bread and a glass on sparkling white wine. I find another great tip is to add chopped olives to this dish when you mix the sauce and pasta - this is completly optional. I will be adding a photo to this recipe soon as I do not have one yet.
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