swanky spag bol.

shopping list 

♥ your favourite cut of steak - i use either rump or sirloin

 ♥ around 75g of fresh tagliatelle or linguine pasta per person 

♥ half a dozen cherry tomatoes per person 

♥ 400g chopped tomatoes 

♥ one red onion, chopped
♥ two cloves of crushed garlic
♥ a twist of black pepper

♥ a knob of butter

forget measly minced beef, 7p tins of pasta sauce and trying to pass off stale spaghetti as "al dente." some of us student types like to live in style. so here i present to you a posh(ish) alternative to good old spag bol with nice chunky cuts of steak, fresh pasta and homemade sauce.

begin by turning the hob to a medium heat and throwing half the knob of butter into a frying or grill pan. when the pan is nice and hot, place in the steak and grind a little pepper on top. try to only turn the steak once; around three minutes each side for rare, five minutes each side for medium and seven minutes each side for well done. when you are happy with your steak lay it to one side on a clean, flat surface to rest. (probably not a student worktop then).

next is to make the pasta sauce and cook the pasta. boil a kettle and leave the pasta to cook on a back hob whilst you have the pasta sauce on the go.

for the pasta sauce, use the remaining butter in a saucepan to soften the crushed garlic and chopping onions on a medium heat for a around five minutes. next tip in the chopped tomatoes and whole cherry tomatoes and leave to simmer for a further five minutes.

now that you have all the components ready for this culinary creation, slice up the steak into lovely chunks, discarding the fattier edges if you wish. it should be lovely and pink inside. unless you foolishly opted for 'well done', ahem.

next throw in the steak to the sauce and keep on a low-ish heat as to make sure it is all hot and cooked through but try not to cook the steak any further. drain the pasta ready to serve. if you like, add torn basil leaves, grated Parmesan or black pepper to taste.

and abracadabra, your new favourite italian dish.

oh and if you aren't already convinced, click on the picture of the finished result, where that particular time i used a mix of egg and spinach fresh pasta and rump steak. i feel like the thumbnail doesn't do it justice.


thanks for stopping by my blog :)

♥