Description
Crimson Napolitan spaghetti celebrates Naples’ street-food legacy with bold tomato sauce and simple ingredients. Hearty comfort emerges through classic Italian culinary traditions that connect you directly to southern Italy’s passionate cooking culture.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound (454 grams) dried spaghetti
- 12 to 13 oz (340 to 368 g) beef sausage or other smoked sausage
- 1 medium green bell pepper
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsps (30 ml) unsalted butter, divided
- ¼ cup plus 1 tbsp (75 ml) ketchup, divided
- 2 tbsps (30 ml) oyster sauce
- 1 tsp (5 ml) hot sauce, such as Tabasco
- 2 tbsps (30 ml) olive oil
- ½ tsp (2.5 g) kosher salt
- ¼ tsp (1.25 g) freshly ground black pepper
- Shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prep Ingredients: Slice beef sausage into half-moon shapes, chop green bell pepper, yellow onion, and garlic into fine pieces.
- Sauce Creation: Whisk together butter, ketchup, oyster sauce, and hot sauce in a small bowl until smooth and uniform.
- Sauté Foundation: Heat olive oil in a large skillet, introduce minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add onions and beef sausage, cooking until onions become translucent and sausage slightly caramelizes.
- Vegetable Integration: Incorporate bell peppers into the skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables soften and develop subtle caramelization.
- Sauce Development: Create a central well in the skillet, pour prepared sauce and allow it to lightly caramelize without immediate stirring. Blend entire mixture, simmering until sauce thickens and coats ingredients evenly.
- Pasta Preparation: Simultaneously, boil salted water and cook spaghetti, removing one minute before reaching full al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining.
- Final Composition: Transfer pasta directly into skillet, combining with sauce and reserved cooking water. Toss thoroughly to ensure uniform coating, adding extra butter and ketchup to adjust sauce consistency.
- Presentation: Plate Napolitan and garnish with delicate Parmesan cheese shavings for an elegant finishing touch.
Notes
- Pasta Water Magic: Reserve a cup of starchy pasta water to help create a silky, clingy sauce that perfectly coats every strand of spaghetti.
- Sauté Secret: Cook vegetables and sausage slowly to develop deep, caramelized flavors that enhance the overall taste profile of the dish.
- Sauce Balancing Act: Allow the sauce to slightly caramelize without stirring to create complex, rich flavor notes and prevent burning.
- Cheese Finishing Touch: Freshly grated Parmesan adds a salty, umami punch that elevates the entire Napolitan experience.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 610
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 73 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 24 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg