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Spaghetti with tomato paste

Spaghetti with tomato paste

Everyday ingredients, simple, cheap, and quick! Spaghetti with tomato paste is a fast, fuss-free recipe for those nights when there's no time for anything more elaborate. It's a tasty, filling family dinner on its own, or a great side dish for meat and fish.

Julia M.

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Spaghetti

250

Water

1.5

Tomato paste

Onion

Garlic

Vegetable oil (for frying)

Sugar

0.5

Dry spices

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 14 % 2 g

Fats 7 % 1 g

Carbohydrates 79 % 11 g

56 kcal

GI: 18 / 82 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 20 min

Step 1:

How do you make spaghetti with tomato paste? First, cook the spaghetti. How do you cook spaghetti? Pour the needed amount of water into a pot and set it over the heat. Bring it to a boil and add salt.
Step 2:

Add the spaghetti to the boiling water. Stir right away so the strands don't stick together. Bring it back to a boil, lower the heat, and cook, stirring now and then, for the time listed on the package. Taste a strand to be sure it's done.
Step 3:

Drain the cooked spaghetti in a colander to let the excess water run off.
Step 4:

Meanwhile, while the spaghetti cooks, heat a skillet. Pour in a little vegetable oil. Peel the onion and garlic. Finely chop the onion. Press the garlic through a garlic press. Add it all to the hot skillet and sauté over low heat for 1–2 minutes, until golden.
Step 5:

Now add the tomato paste to the skillet. If the paste is thick, you can loosen it with a splash of the spaghetti cooking water. Stir well and keep cooking, but lower the heat a touch so the paste doesn't scorch.
Step 6:

Bring it all to a simmer and hold it over the heat, stirring constantly, for 2–3 minutes. Taste the sauce and add salt, sugar, and spices as needed.
Step 7:

Right about now the spaghetti should be done. Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet with the sauce. Toss everything well and warm it through so the whole dish is evenly hot. Serve. Enjoy!

You can make this dish with more than just spaghetti — any kind of pasta works. The onion and garlic give the tomato paste a savory kick. To serve, sprinkle on a little chopped fresh herbs and garnish with basil, for example. For something heartier, try stirring a bit of browned ground meat or smoked bacon into the sauce. Even a beginner cook or a teenager can pull this simple dish off with ease. Fast, simple, tasty, and budget-friendly — highly recommended!
For how to cook pasta properly, how to get it perfectly al dente, how to pick a quality product so you're never disappointed, and much more, read the article "Pasta — the fine points of choosing it and the secrets of cooking it."
For cooking, it's best to use filtered or bottled water with a neutral taste. If you use tap water, keep in mind it can give the dish an off, characteristic flavor.
You can swap the tomato paste in this recipe for canned tomatoes in their own juice, fresh tomatoes, or ketchup.