Wednesday 6 June 2012

Solo Spicy Spaghetti


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Ok so I know my blog has been looking specifically like a nail blog of late but that’s really not my intention…there are loads more variety of posts to come…life happens and things have been uber crazy around here but thankfully it’s starting to calm down a little now!

So I don’t know about you but I more than a little LOVE spicy food and hey it’s good for weight loss it speeds up the metabolism! Score!

Craving some pasta at lunch time, done and done! Who says you can’t spoil yourself and make pasta for one! Exactly what I did and I loved every last bite of it! Home alone doesn’t always have to mean cereal and toast, savour the solo time!

You’ll need some of this

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and this

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Ok the official list goes a little like this:
  • 1/4 white onion (more less or depending on your preference)
  • 2 green chillies (less or more depending on your preference again and a little tip – you should freeze chillies, they will keep for ages that way!)
  • 4 small mushrooms
  • 1 serving of wholewheat spaghetti
  • 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon of peri-peri oil ( not essential, can omit if you don’t have any)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of margerine
  • 2 teaspoons garlic paste (I’m a fan!)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli garlic seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic powder ( I told you I was a fan!)

I really do like my food pretty spicy so feel free to omit the cayenne pepper and chillies if need be, this will be just as yummy without the fiery kick! You can easily double or triple the quantities to make this for more people!
 
Method:

1) Chop and prep all your veg before you start, and please de-seed the chillies or omit them completely if you are not a fan of heat! 

2) Put a small pot of water on to boil, once it is boiling throw in a small splash of oil and a pinch of salt and put in your spaghetti to cook, it will take about 15 minutes to be al dente, to taste test whether the pasta is ready it should still have a bit of a bite to it 

3) Heat vegetable oil and peri-peri oil in a frying pan, the oil should shimmer then you know it’s at the correct heat to start frying the onions

4) Throw in your chopped onions and let it sweat for about 2-3 minutes

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5) Next add the chillies and garlic paste and let it fry for about 1 minute

6) Now add the 1/2 teaspoon of margerine, it should thicken up quite a bit…add a little less or more margerine if you prefer

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7) Now add the chopped mushrooms and spices and fry for about 10 minutes, if it starts getting too dry add small splash of water

8) Check your pasta it should be about ready now, drain and keep the spaghetti aside and reserve a little of the pasta water

9) Your mushroom mixture should look like below then you know it’s ready, the mixture should be fairly dry with not much liquid left behind. Season with a sprinkle of salt

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10) Now dunk in the spaghetti into the pan and stir it all together, if it needs a little loosening up so the mushroom mixture sticks to the pasta better just tip in a little of the reserved pasta water

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11) To keep this meal fairly lite I omitted cheese but to make it even more calorie friendly you can cut the oil down to half the said portion and omit the margerine as well

12) Grab yourself a cosy spot in the sun and savour every last bite of your scrummy pasta for one!

What’s your favourite meal for one ?

7 comments:

  1. Love the sound of this recipe, Renee! Is there anything more comforting than a big bowl of spaghetti? You take amazing photos too!

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  2. Thanks so much Khushboo, such kind words!! Really appreciate it! Tell me about it, nothing beats diving face first into a big bowl of carb loving!!! Can you tell I'm a pasta addict ?! haha!

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  3. Renee, that first picture is soo good!! Totally drool-worthy :) Great recipe! I'm def gonna be trying it soon. And pasta for one is totally acceptable. In fact, when I was at uni it would be my go-to meal! Terrible right? I think your idea of spoiling yourself once in a while is much better ;)

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  4. I am starving!! This look so good :) Your pics look awesome!

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  5. Thanks so much Sonal! Lemme know how it goes when you try it! Haha SO not terrible I totally feel you! When I lived in London for working holidays I had ZERO idea on how to cook it was literally ramen noodles and pizza as my go to meal uuh EVERYDAY! I still cringe such a bad health time in my life haha, I came back home both times with vitamin deficiencies...no joke! It was motivation to learn to cook! Sana, thanks so much for the kind words! Hope you found yourself some yummy grub!:)

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  6. Yum yum yum! I wish I was your dinner guest at this meal Renee

    xo Andrea
    http://uskar-vor-inspire.blogspot.ca/

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