Il Bastardo

Last night I probably offended all of the Italians in the world by doing a complete bastardized version of a popular pasta dish. But, in true Cupboard Love fashion, I needed to use what I had, provided it wasn't too out of the box!

119. Tomato, Bacon and Onion Sauce (Amatriciana) - *Pasta*

In my Internet research post-dinner last night, I found that amatriciana sauce comes from the town of Amatrice in Italy; most of the time, it involves pancetta or bacon, tomatoes, and a punchy hit of a hot pepper. It is garnished with pecorino romano, and served on top bucatini, a thick strand of spaghetti that has the center hollowed out. Well turns out I wasn't the only one who bastardized this dish, as Tom uses this sauce for penne, ha!, and with parmesan and no pepper.

But, at any rate, I had to use what I had available. I don't like bacon, so I wanted to make this for Rafa, since he comes home late from work, and I figured it would be something nice to come home to. Our bacon in the fridge was not looking its best; I had to throw it away. I was looking around for something else that was kinda smoked and definitely in the pork-y realm. I found the chorizo. I knew Rafa wouldn't object to having a tomato sauce with loads of chorizo, but I wasn't sure how it would taste. I decided to give it a try.

So first I chopped up about 100 grams of chorizo. I added them to a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil, as the chorizo was quite oily already. Once the chorizo got crispy, I added a chopped onion and some sage leaves. I let this fry for a bit.

Then, I added a nice splash of red wine. I used pseudo-plonk, though, I have to admit. It was an old bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, hehehe. The sauce reduced a little bit, and then I added some squeezed out plum tomatoes (San Marzano, but of course) to the pan with a pinch of salt.

The penne was ready, and after draining it, I tossed it in some butter off the heat. I added the tomato sauce and some chopped parmesan. I kept the whole thing warm while Rafa was experiencing his idea of hell on Earth; the evening commute! He came home to a lovely warm bowl of pasta.

He really enjoyed the pasta. He loves chorizo, of course, but also appreciated the lovely smell of wine emanating from the bowl. Bless him. He can't detect plonk either!

While he was eating I came upon an epiphany. I could just cook the things he likes for those nights when he works late. My dinner is out of the way; and I have time to make his and I don't even have to eat it! Yippee! So I become a good and nurturing wife, and a successful blogger!