Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Spaghetti al Amatriciana For One

1/4 lb spaghetti, cooked al dente
2-3 slices of bacon (or more)
3 tbls diced onion
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 8oz can plain tomato sauce
1 tbls grated romano cheese
1 tbl chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
black pepper to taste

Cut the bacon into 1/2" pieces and brown it to your liking over medium heat. Move it to a paper towel lined plate and pour off most of the grease, leaving a tbl or so. Brown the onion in the skillet then add the vinegar, tomato sauce and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine, then add the cheese. Let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the basil and black pepper, stir, then add the pasta and stir to combine. Serve with more cheese.

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So, I'm afraid I'm not going to be doing step by step pictures anymore, at least not for the foreseeable future. I just don't have the space in my kitchen to get set up to do it right. It sucks because I enjoyed that a lot, but I have a total of three feet of counter space and it's broken up into one foot lengths. One foot by the stove and a foot on either side of the sink. It's simply inadequate for the job. But I'm hardly going to stop blogging altogether, I'm just going to simplify a bit.

In fact, not only am I not stopping blogging but I even have a new blog. Well, sort of new. I've been sitting on it for a while, waiting for the time and motivation to do something with it. But being currently unemployed I now have plenty of time. Heh. It's about houseplants, mostly ficuses. So, if you're into that, feel free to stop by. There's not much there as of now, but there will be more soon, I assure you.

And speaking of unemployment, want to show a dude some love? Make his stuff a little more visible? You could go to my page at Foodie Views and vote for my pictures. You don't have to register to vote there. If you really wanted to you could always favorite any of my pictures you like over at Foodgawker and Tastespotting. If you wanted. Heh. But anyway, that's all the self promotion I'm going to subject you to, here's the deal with the pasta.

This is my standard amatriciana, but pared down for one person. No, my girlfriend hasn't stopped putting up with my crap or dumped me because I'm a jobless bum, she just doesn't like this dish the same way I do. You know, spicy. So I usually wind up making it when I'm just cooking for myself. After a little trial and error I've gotten it just right. At least for my tastes. It's funny, when I started making this for just myself I never thought to do the math and cut the original by three quarters. And it's a good thing too, since this isn't a quarter of the original and it's really good as it is.

I've found you can use that canned pre-grated Parmesan instead of romano and it works ok. It's not as good, clearly, but it's totally fine. Same with dried basil instead of fresh. You could even use diced dehydrated onion, although I'd open the can of tomato sauce, dump in the dried onion and let it soak for a while before you started cooking. This is a great pantry meal, assuming bacon is one of your pantry staples. I know it is for me.

25 comments:

Lea Ann said...

Love spaghetti and I've never addedd bacon to my red sauced brew. I'll have to do that next time.

Angie's Recipes said...

Is that enough for you? That's not even enough for me...

Jeannie said...

totally awesome looking and yes, the portion is a little small for a man:D

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Once you wrote bacon, you didn't need to sell me anymore. This is a fabulous dish and I can't wait to try it!

Karen said...

Spaghetti is my #1 favorite thing to eat... this looks delicious!

Dewi said...

Yummy, bacon always do magic to the meal, that's why I like bacon.

Hungry Dog said...

I love amatriciana sauce--it's one of my absolute favorites. This looks great--never thought to add red wine vinegar to it but I can see how that would add a nice tang.

NKP said...

There are times you just crave spaghetti. I made it this week for hubby too.

Bob said...

Lea Ann: Bacon and tomato sauce are wicked good together, I assure you.

Angie: Heh, it's fine for a light meal, especially with some garlic bread or something.

Jeannie: Thanks! A side dish certainly wouldn't hurt.

Katherine Aucoin: Thanks, if you do try it let me know how it turns out for you.

Karen: Thanks!

Elra: Bacon is natures perfect food. Heh.

Hungry Dog: It does add a nice something to it, goes great with the bacon.

Leslie said...

I would agree, unemployment brings about lots of free time!!!!

Jenn said...

I need to try adding bacon to my sauce next time. If you make it for one that means more deliciousness for you, right?

Reeni said...

I've been craving spaghetti and meatballs like crazy! I love your sauce with bacon in it. I've never had it that way.

Joanne said...

what a perfect pasta! I love amatriciana...bring on the spices.

The pictures look good. It is definitely rough setting it up in a small kitchen. In fact, the only really good light in my apartment is from my bedroom lamp. So yes. I bring the food into my room to photograph it. Lovely.

Melissa said...

Oh, I never thought to add bacon to a sauce! LoL but yet I have put them on cupcakes...go figure! LOL. Wish I had read this before I made dinner tonight...can you guess what I made? Haha. ;-P

A Full-Timed Housefly said...

Wow is this one person's portion ? It looks so much to me...lol...this looks really good and sorry your gf had dumped you , don't be sad , it is time to do a good planning for your future , be it your work life or love life , you just have to work doubly hard at this stage. All the best and hope you get a new job soon.

Velva said...

Your Amatriana pasta dish look awesome. All that missing is good bottle of chanti. I hoped that you enjoyed your meal.

Steph said...

Wow Bob, that pasta dish looks delicious. I'm not into spicy foods like your gf, but I think I would eat that. Good luck in finding another job.

Dajana said...

it's one of those pasta dishes you just have to love. So good.
During the week I cook lunch only for myself, and I like to think of it as time to cook things only I like and to try new stuff.

noble pig said...

Well, make the most of the free time....I do like the spicy here!

pigpigscorner said...

Love pasta! so simple but so satisyfing...yay to bacon!

smilinggreenmom said...

Bacon sauce? Awesome - my hubs will love this! I will make it with some Kamut Khorasan Wheat pasta noodles to sneak in some added nutrients LOL!

Kate at Serendipity said...

This looks so good! Luckily, my husband likes spicy food as much as I do, so I can make this as often as I want... Bacon makes this perfect, doesn't it?

monicajane said...

I'm going to make this tonight! we actually have bacon in the fridge, a rare occurrence...

I love amatriciana...another dish my dad made all the time but I have never made it...

thanks very much for reminding me!

Kim said...

Love the bacon. Bacon makes everything better. You on a diet or something? I agree with the others. Way too small of a portion. :)

I voted for a handful of your pics. The Berry Biscuit Cup was definitely my very favorite.

Unknown said...

Spaghetti al Amatriciana is one of my go-to meals during the week when I want something comforting and easy to toss together. Also, I don't trust anyone who doesn't have bacon on hand in their kitchen--

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