One of my favorite treats as a child was a freshly opened
can of Spaghettios. Didn’t matter if it
was plain or had tiny meatballs, either way, it was great. After I moved into my dorm room freshman year, I went to the
grocery store to buy some snacks. I came across the
cans of Spaghettios on the soup aisle. My heart leaped for joy. I hadn't had Spaghettios in years. I thought to myself, I’m an adult. I can buy whatever snack I want. Into the cart, they went. A couple of days later, I opened
the can and poured it into a plastic dish, and heated it up in
the shared dorm lounge microwave. After putting a big spoonful in my mouth, much to my
disappointment, I realized they were not as good as I remembered. The noodles
were mushy, and the sauce had a weird aftertaste.
Fast forward several years later, I was watching a history
show about American foods and Spaghettios was the subject. Spaghettios were invented
in 1965 by Donald Goerke, marketing manager of the Franco-American brand,
division of the Campbell Soup Company. Donald was tasked with creating a
canned pasta that would appeal to children. After trying different shapes, he settled
on the ring shape since it would be less messy and easy to eat a spoon.
The show made me nostalgic for my once-favorite treat. I
started to ponder if it would be possible to create Spaghettios that tasted
good and were less processed. Challenge accepted. The first order of business
was to find ring-shaped pasta. Anellini pasta, which is Italian for “little rings”, are
small ring-shaped pasta. It’s most commonly used in soups and salads or in our
application, Spaghettios. It may be hard to find at your local grocery
store. I found them on Amazon. The next
order of business was to figure out the sauce. Traditional Spaghettios are in a
thin tangy tomato sauce. The sauce has milk, modified cheese enzymes, high
fructose corn syrup, paprika, and other food
stabilizers/preservatives. The tomato
sauce and paprika are the only things I’m going to use in my recipe. Instead of
the cheese enzymes, I’m using nutritional yeast; Instead of corn syrup; I’m
using agave syrup; and instead of whole milk, I’m using cashew cream. Cashew cream is a good dairy-free substitute for whole milk. It adds a nice creaminess to the sauce. Cashews have a neutral flavor so they don't overpower the dish. You can find dairy-free cream substitutes at health food stores, but they can be hit or miss. Sometimes they are too sweet or they have an overwhelming almond or coconut taste. Cashew cream is easy to make at home. Here is a recipe link if you would like to try it. This recipe is vegan and dairy-free.
Ingredients:
2 cups of dry anellini pasta
2 cans (8oz each)of tomato sauce
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup cashew cream
1 Tbsp agave syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
Directions:
Cook the pasta in boiling water. Anellini takes a little
longer than regular spaghetti. I
recommend cooking it for the max time, of 15 minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, start preparing the sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the tomato paste. Stir until the tomato paste becomes fragrant. This caramelizes the tomato paste. When tomato paste is caramelized, it adds a nice umami flavor to the dish.
Once the tomato paste has caramelized, add the rest of the ingredients. I like to mix all the seasoning together in a small bowl so it’s easy to dump into the saucepan. Stir for a few minutes until all the ingredients are incorporated. Turn down the heat to low, cover, and let the sauce lightly simmer.
After the pasta is finished cooking, save about a cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce. Drain the pasta and add it along with the pasta water to your saucepan. Stir and continue cooking on low for 2-3 minutes.
You can serve the SpaghettiO as is or add in some meatballs or hotdogs.
Comments
Post a Comment