surprisingly delicious spaghetti

One of Beau's favorite dinners is spaghetti. To be honest I never take the time to make meatballs, I just brown up some hot Italian sausage and add it to a jar of red sauce. It is quick, Beau likes it, and I happen to really like the sausage over meatballs anyway. But all that heavy sauce and noodles always leaves me sluggish and bloated and I feel heavy even the next morning. So as much as Beau loves it, I tend to be more hesitant to make it.

And then I discovered a whole new way to make spaghetti! Okay, well it isn't actually new at all but it is something I never tried because the ingredients always scared me off a little bit. I have heard it called several different things so I just call it spaghetti a la delicious. You create a little sauce with fresh or canned tomatoes and a things like anchovies and capers and I find that if I use whole wheat noodles then I don't feel so bad about scarfing down a second helping. And as it turns out, the anchovies scared me but the whole meal comes together really well and tastes fantastic! Plus it is so fast to make. If you just take the time to measure everything out and chop it up then you can just toss it all together in only a few minutes.

Spaghetti A La Delicious

handful of whole wheat spaghetti
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp hot chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
about 6 anchovy filets, mashed with a fork (optional for a vegetarian version)
1 can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted or with herbs)
a small handful of kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 Tbsp capers, chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp fresh oregano and thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

cook the spaghetti in salted water

heat the olive oil in a pan then add the hot chili flakes and garlic. saute for a couple minutes until garlic is brown. Add the anchovies and saute for a few seconds, then add tomatoes and simmer (while stirring) for about 5 minutes. Stir in olives, capers, brown sugar, herbs, salt and pepper. Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss together until it is coated.

Remember that capers and anchovies are salty on their own, so taste before adding any more salt!