When you come home hungry after a long night, the last thing you want to do is whip up an elaborate meal. But you can probably put together a bowl of pasta with whatever you have on hand? The Italians are one step ahead of you: they call it spaghettata di mezzanotte. This is the smartest tradition to put a night of partying to bed. The best thing about spaghettata is that it doesn't have to contain spaghetti or special pantry ingredients. It's all about whipping up a tasty pasta dish in the short amount of time you have before you pass out, and that's just another wonderful culinary contribution from Italy. Prepare the delicious midnight spaghetti this weekend!
Spaghettata di Mezzanotte – the quick, classic recipe
This pasta is a late-after-work tradition in many Italian households. Made with the tastiest ingredients in the fridge, like garlic, capers, parmesan and peppery arugulathe recipe in about 30 minutesprepared.
Ingredients (for 2 servings):
- 200 g Spaghetti
- Peeled, fresh garlic
- 200g cooked white beans
- 200 g diced tomatoes
- Fresh parsley
- 35g wholemeal breadcrumbs
- 50 g grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 90 g Arugula
- 30 g Ricotta
Preparation of the traditional midnight spaghetti:
Wash the vegetables before preparing them.
* Cook the spaghetti
- Bring a medium-sized pot of plenty of salted water to the boil.
- Add the spaghetti and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve 60 ml pasta cooking water.
- While the water is heating and the spaghetti is cooking, prepare the sauce.
* Start with the sauce
- Finely chop, press or grate enough garlic to measure 1 teaspoon.
- Rinse the white beans.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the beans and cook for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season with pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly, 4 to 6 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the whole wheat breadcrumbs.
* Prepare whole wheat breadcrumbs
- Pull the parsley leaves from the stems and chop roughly.
- Spread the whole wheat crumbs in an even layer on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool. Stir in the parsley and Parmesan.
- While the whole wheat crumbs are toasting, prepare the remaining ingredients.
* Prepare remaining ingredients and finish pasta
- Rinse the capers.
- Roughly chop the arugula.
- Stir the capers and arugula into the sauce and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add the spaghetti and the reserved pasta cooking water and toss everything well. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the noodles into individual bowls. Crumble the ricotta cheese over the top, sprinkle with the whole wheat breadcrumbs and serve.
The Sicilian, delicious midnight spaghetti
This is a delicious recipe that says, "I have no idea what to cook, but I need something quick from the pantry." This is the Sicilian version, where the pasta, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and raisins are staple foods. Add some parsley from the garden or balcony and...the best Pastais finished. Spaghettata di Mezzanotte is an Italian tradition and the ingredients vary depending on the region or family.
Ingredients (for 4 servings):
- 500 g Spaghetti
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 8 cloves of garlic, or to taste, coarsely chopped
- 8 anchovy fillets in oil, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and left whole
- 1 or 2 pinches of crushed red pepper
- 30 g parsley, coarsely chopped
- 40g raisins
- 40 g pine nuts, toasted
- 120 ml extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan cheese for serving
Preparation:
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add salt and spaghetti. Cook until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Don't let it brown. Add anchovies, capers, red pepper, raisins and pine nuts. Stir well, turn off the heat and keep warm.
- Drain the spaghetti and return it to the saucepan. Pour the garlic sauce over it and add the parsley. Toss well so that everything is well coated. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.
Spaghetti al Tonno as a version of midnight spaghetti
Ingredients (for 4 servings):
- 500 g Spaghetti
- 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 400 g canned crushed tomatoes
- 150 g canned tuna
- 30 g chopped parsley
Preparation of midnight spaghetti with tuna:
- Cook 500g spaghetti (or other long pasta) in a large pot of boiling salted water.
- Heat oil on medium flame. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant.
- Add the onion and cook until soft, then add the canned tomatoes and 120ml water. Simmer for 3 minutes, then add the tuna.
- Add the pasta to the sauce with 150 ml of pasta cooking water.Toss the noodlesCook until the sauce thickens and clings to the pasta, 1 to 2 minutes. If necessary, use more pasta water to loosen the sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley.
