00:00Hello, this is Chef John from Foodwishes.com with Dirty Spaghetti.
00:08That's right, spaghetti's been too clean for too long.
00:11So I'm going to show you my favorite method for making it dirty, and I mean very dirty.
00:16Speaking of which, we're going to do everything in one pan, which not only means no extra dirty dishes,
00:22but it also means our pasta is going to absorb more flavor than if we boiled it separately.
00:27And to get started, we'll take some ground beef, and we'll transfer it into a skillet set over medium-high
00:32heat,
00:33in which we've drizzled some olive oil, and we will cook that for a few minutes while crumbling it up
00:38with a spatula,
00:39since we want to give this a little bit of a head-start browning, before we add what's called the
00:43Holy Trinity,
00:45which is a combination of diced onions, some kind of peppers, which in my case are going to be some
00:51red and orange bell peppers,
00:52as well as some diced celery, and then to turn our Holy Trinity into the Four Horsemen of the Flavor
00:59Apocalypse,
01:00we will also add some cut-up andouille sausage, and we will cook this during for about a minute or
01:05so,
01:06before we add our Cajun seasonings.
01:08And personally, I love the combination of the ground beef with that spicy, smoky, super savory cured sausage.
01:15But this technique will work with any kind of ground meat or sausage, so if you want to use something
01:20else, go ahead.
01:22I mean, you are after all the swamp thing, of making sure these flavors sing.
01:26And speaking of swampy flavors, once we have cooked that for a minute or two,
01:31we will toss in some onion powder, some garlic powder, as well as a nice spoon of paprika, either regular
01:38or smoked.
01:39We will also do some ground cumin, followed by some dried herbs, and I went with thyme and oregano.
01:46And then we will finish up with some freshly ground black pepper, some cayenne, of course, as well as some
01:52kosher salt.
01:53And we will stir all that together, and cook this for another two minutes or so,
01:58which is really all we are going to need at this point,
02:00since all these veggies are going to continue to soften while we cook our pasta.
02:04And I do think we want those to retain a little bit of texture when we serve this.
02:09Oh, and I should mention, most recipes are going to have you add a couple tablespoons of flour at this
02:13point,
02:14which will, of course, help thicken up the sauce.
02:16But since we are using a one-pan method, and we are cooking our spaghetti in the broth,
02:20we are going to have plenty of starch already in here to make that happen.
02:24But anyway, once that is cooked for a few minutes, we will transfer in our beef broth,
02:29which could also be chicken broth, or I guess vegetable broth.
02:34But who are we kidding?
02:36And no matter what you use, what we will do is stir that in,
02:39and we will wait for that to come up to a simmer,
02:42at which point we can add our raw spaghetti,
02:44which I am going to break in half,
02:46since I think that makes it a lot easier to work with.
02:49And what we will do is spread that out, and distribute that as evenly as possible,
02:54which at this point is not super easy.
02:56But as you will see, this is going to soften up fairly quickly,
02:59and it will become very flexible and easy to work with.
03:03So at this point, just do your best, which of course is all we ever ask.
03:07And then what we will do is cover this,
03:09and let it cook over medium-high heat for two minutes,
03:13before we uncover it, and give everything a stir.
03:16And what the plan is here, is to repeat this process every couple minutes,
03:21for as long as it takes, until our pasta is cooked to our liking.
03:24And after the first toss or two,
03:27we can probably back our heat down to somewhere between medium and medium-high.
03:30Right, as long as we have enough heat where this is simmering enthusiastically,
03:34we're in good shape.
03:36And please note, I used a skillet here, so it's easy to see what's going on.
03:41But a stock pot or a Dutch oven is also a great choice for this,
03:45since one of the keys here is to have a nice tight-fitting lid,
03:48which, by the way, I really don't have.
03:51Right, this pan was not sold with a matching lid.
03:54So the one I'm using is close, but it's not a perfect fit,
03:58which means we are going to have water vapor escaping,
04:01which could be the case when you're doing this.
04:04So if things are looking like they're drying out a little too much,
04:06before our pasta's cooked,
04:08we might have to add a little splash of water to adjust.
04:11So that's something you'll have to keep an eye on.
04:14And yes, you can toss a little more broth in if you want.
04:17But what is escaping is pure water,
04:20so it just makes sense that's what we put back in.
04:23But anyway, whether we have to adjust or not,
04:25if everything goes according to plan,
04:28as soon as our liquids have reduced down,
04:30our pasta should be cooked perfectly.
04:32And again, if it's not, just add a little more liquid.
04:36But this was looking and feeling just about perfect.
04:39And of course, we'll test a noodle or two to make sure.
04:42And once we have tasted that and determined our pasta is cooked,
04:46we can adjust the seasoning with a little more salt if we need it.
04:50Plus, I like to add a little bit of Worcestershire sauce to finish this off,
04:54which I think makes this a little dirtier and a little more delicious.
04:58And that's it.
04:59Once that's been mixed in,
05:00our dirty spaghetti is ready to transfer into a clean bowl.
05:04And then it is optional,
05:06but I think a nice sprinkling of finely sliced green onions is a perfect garnish.
05:10And once I had that scattered over,
05:13I grabbed a fork and a spoon,
05:14and I went in for the official taste.
05:17And that, my friends,
05:19catchy, provocative names aside,
05:21is just a profoundly delicious bowl of pasta.
05:23Okay, usually when people use the term flavor bomb,
05:27they're almost always exaggerating.
05:29Well, here, the term flavor bomb is actually an understatement.
05:33And when you consider the ingredients we used and how we seasoned it,
05:36that makes total sense.
05:38And by the way,
05:39the best reason to use a one-pan method for pasta
05:41isn't to save us from doing extra cleanup,
05:44although that is a nice feature.
05:46But the best reason to use the one-pan method
05:48is because our pasta is absorbing our flavorful sauce
05:51and not just plain water.
05:53Like it would if we used a traditional method.
05:56Alright, even if you generously salt your water like I've trained you to do,
05:59it's never going to have even close to as much flavor
06:02as this version here.
06:04Oh, and before I sign off,
06:05I will mention one small regret.
06:07Okay, I almost always use some kind of green pepper
06:10in the Holy Trinity.
06:11Alright, this time I didn't,
06:13because I already had some red and orange bell peppers around.
06:16But I think this slightly more bitter green pepper
06:18actually works better in this.
06:20Since, as you might know,
06:22a little bit of bitter makes everything better.
06:24But no matter what peppers you use,
06:26I think you're going to love this dirty spaghetti
06:28every bit as much as I did.
06:30Which is why I really do hope you give it a try soon.
06:34So please follow the links below
06:36for the ingredient amounts,
06:37a printable written recipe,
06:39and much more info as usual.
06:41And as always,
06:44enjoy.
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