Spaghetti alla carrettiera
€1.96│ €0.49 per portion │ Serves 4 │ Under 30mins│ Italy
Refreshing and delicious, spaghetti alla carrettiera's fresh tomato sauce requires no cooking at all. This is a simple sunny day recipe that is ready in just 15 minutes! The most important thing is picking a good tomato - because this recipe is so simple, better tomatoes will have a huge impact here.
Explore our simple recipe ready to suit a spring or summer weekly meal plan.
What to serve it with?
Spaghetti alla carrettiera goes amazingly with fresh Mediterranean vegetables. Think a rocket, radish, and cucumber salad; canned chargrilled courgettes; and anchovies with olives.
Again, the better the tomatoes, the nicer this dish is. Don't be afraid to buy nice tomatoes, think beef tomatoes, as this dish is otherwise very affordable!
How to use in a meal plan
Good home economics is using ingredients smartly - and that saves money and cuts food waste. A meal plan is a great way to do this.
Spaghetti alla carrettiera is perfect for a lazy, sunny day. It requires basically no cooking at all and it is ready in the time it takes you to boil pasta.
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making dinner also your leftover lunch avoids spending money and extra time cooking!
Spaghetti alla carrettiera is best eaten fresh, but it's fine leftover too. Simply eat from the fridge at cold/room temperature. No need to reheat!
Utensils
- Sauté pot + lid
- Tongs
- Cheese grater/blender
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 500g spaghetti
- 3-4 large tomatoes
- 25ml olive oil
- 1 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
- 15g fresh basil
- Cheese to grate (e.g. pecorino)
Method
- Boil 500g spaghetti in salted water until al dente for around 9-10 minutes. Don't immediately drain the pasta water away, you'll need it.
- In the meantime, grate or blend whole tomatoes in a mixing bowl. To the pulped tomato, add olive oil, one minced garlic clove, 10g roughly chopped basil, and chili flakes. Let sit while pasta cooks.
- Once the spaghetti is just al dente, add 2 tbsp of pasta water to the tomato and stir to create an emulsion. Using the tongs, add spaghetti gradually to the bowl and coat the pasta with the tomato. Add breadcrumbs and mix together well. The sauce should be 'creamy'. If it's dry, add extra pasta water and olive oil.
- Transfer spaghetti to a bowl, top with grated cheese and the remaining basil.
- Enjoy!