Thursday, June 12, 2003 :::
Nu-Q-lar Spaghetti:Say 1 lb. ground beef
15 oz. tomato sauce
15 oz. canned tomatoes, or a comparable quantity of fresh tomatoes
Several cloves of garlic
more black pepper than you think
fair amount of cumin
a cameo of oregano
a little basil, if using canned tomatoes
spaghettiBrown the beef; meanwhile, open the tomato sauce, and chop the garlic, storing the chopped garlic in the tomato sauce. (Garlic exposed to air does the same thing apples do. It's my hope that the acids from the tomatoes do the same thing lemon juice does. If they don't, it at least hides the havoc being wreaked on your garlic, so you can sleep better.) One or two cloves should be minced, but the others are chopped more coarsely; these are the vegetables in the sauce, and ought to show up as chunks at the end. After draining the beef, add black peper. No, more than that. More. More. Okay, good. Add the tomato sauce and garlic, and if you've removed heat, reintroduce it, to let the garlic soften a bit. Add the other spices as you become bored. Eventually add the tomatoes. The oregano is there because it's not spaghetti sauce without it, but it's mostly for show; the basil seems to me to restore some sweetness that is lost by tomatoes when they're canned, though I may be deluding myself. Eventually I gauge the amount of liquid and add about as much spaghetti, directly to the sauce, as I think it takes to absorb it. If you wanted more vegetables, jalapeno peppers, added at the same time as the garlic, would not be out of place; vegetables more typical of spaghetti sauce can be added at the same time, though if you're doing this you probably don't get it. A suggested variant you wouldn't have come up with on your own is the addition of sliced green olives shortly before the spaghetti; they provide a much different flavor, and, if there's enough pepper to hurt your tongue, may provide some relief. (If there's not, you didn't add enough pepper.) The really key ingredients are the black pepper, for which the beef serves as a delivery device, the garlic, and the cumin. Ideally the concoction will have a sheen to it, as may your skin for several hours as garlic seeps through your pores. (If you're cooking this on a date, discretion is strongly advised.)I find that this makes one and a half servings or so; after I've eaten what I want I have enough left over for a tupperware-type container that represents a small lunch the next day.
::: posted by dWj at 12:28 PM
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