“For this recipe I prefer to fold the cooked spaghetti into the sauce at the end. This adds flavour to the spaghetti that on its own can be quite bland. Since Cape Malays love spicy food, you’ll often find us adding chilli flakes just before serving or a green chilli oil condiment to give a hit of heat, bite after bite.”
Serves: 4–6 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- Salt to taste
- 700 g beef or lamb mince
- 1 can (400 g) whole Italian tomatoes, skinned and roughly puréed
- 1/4 C (60 ml) tomato paste
- 3 Tbsp (45 ml) white sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp (7.5 ml) freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp (5 ml) dried Italian herbs or 1–2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 packet (250 g) spaghetti, cooked as per package instructions
- 1/2 C (125 ml) grated Parmesan cheese
- Green chilli oil (see below), for serving
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium to high heat.
- Add the onion and sauté for 7 minutes or until golden.
- Add the garlic and salt and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Adjust the heat to high and add the mince. Cook for 15 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Use a wooden spoon to break down the mince into smaller pieces resembling crumbles.
- Add the puréed tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and pepper and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the herbs and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Toss the cooked spaghetti with the sauce so that the bolognaise emulsifies and thickens, and the sauce coats the pasta.
- Serve in individual bowls and sprinkle with grated Parmesan and green chilli oil.
TIP
Don’t discard the pasta water, you can add a ladle or two in step 7 to create a rich and velvety sauce.
Copycat Green Chillies in Oil
“Whenever I’m at an Ocean Basket restaurant, I can literally have this little condiment spread on bread. And when I’m at Tashas, it’s the green chillies in olive oil sprinkled on my favourite chicken mayo sandwich, pasta or quesadillas that I love. I ended up making my own version, which now forms part of our ensemble of condiments in our refrigerator at home.”
SERVES 4–6 | PREPARATION TIME 10 minutes | COOKING TIME none
20 g (± 1 C [250 ml]) long fresh green chillies
½ C (125 ml) olive oil
Place the chillies into a food processor or blender and pulse until it forms a coarse paste.
Transfer to a bowl and add the olive oil. Give it a good stir, then transfer to a clean jar and seal with a lid.
It can be stored at room temperature for about a week and for up to one month in the refrigerator.