Salami & Spaghetti

There are more uses for salami than on a pizza or in an Italian sub sandwich. Just saute a few slices with onion and garlic, mix in cooked spaghetti and you have a tasty Italian entree.

In The 99 Cent Chef's latest recipe, this cheapest of deli meat is put to delicious use in a quick and easy Italian pasta dish. You can use any inexpensive sausage you find, even pepperoni. The sausage can come in thick or thin links, or your local deli may have it ready to order and you just ask for any amount -- sliced how you like it.

I get my thinly sliced Genoa Salami from my local 99c only Store. The packages are only 3.5 ounces each, but this is enough for a couple of servings of my cheap$kate Salami & Spaghetti recipe.

All I do is heat up some pieces of salami and then set it aside. I fry up some onion and garlic in the flavorful rendered salami fat; the cooked salami is added back and finally, the cooked pasta, along with a little pasta water, is mixed in. And it's all served with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese topping. (If you have a few leaves of fresh window-box herbs, then add that as well.)

For this recipe, I'm also using wheat pasta. Like brown rice, there is a subtle difference in texture and flavor, but it's pleasing enough. The more I cook with it the better I like it. Pasta is just the delivery device for my sauteed salami recipe.

I always have a package of pasta in the cupboard, a small package of sliced cured Italian sausage in the freezer, and some onion and garlic in the refrigerator. (Some Italian sausage that is dry cured and can be kept at room temperature in the cupboard as well.)

 This meal comes together in about the time it takes to boil a pot of spaghetti. And after a long day's grind, it is satisfying and easy to do. The 99 Cent Chef has your back -- give my Salami and Spaghetti a try if you are broke and have very little time to spend at the stove.

 
Ingredients (about 2 servings)

• Salami - 3.5 ounces, thinly sliced. I used Genoa Salami, but you can use cheap pepperoni or any inexpensive cured sausage.
• 1/4 onion chopped - white or yellow.
• 1 teaspoon garlic - fresh or from the jar.
• 1 teaspoon oil
• Parmesan cheese - I used a couple tablespoons of dried, but you can use fresh graded or any type you like.
• Pasta - about a third of a 16-ounce package. I used wheat spaghetti, but you can use any type you have on hand.

Directions
You can start the pasta water to boil.

I used large thin slices of salami, so I first cut the salami into bite-sized pieces. Over medium heat,  I added the pieces along with a teaspoon of oil. I cooked the salami for about 2 minutes until heated through and some of the salami fat was rendered. (Cooking time may vary by a couple of minutes, depending on how thick your Italian sausage is.)

Pasta water should be about boiling now, so add pasta and cook according to directions.

Remove salami when lightly browned and set aside. Next, add the chopped onion and cook for 2-4 minutes more until soft. Add chopped garlic until the last minute. Be sure to scrape the pan during veggie sauteing to get all the tasty charred bits loose.

When onion and garlic are cooked add the cooked salami and heat through for another minute.

Pasta should be done by now. Just remove it and add directly to the onion, garlic, and salami. Finally, pour in a couple of tablespoons of pasta water and mix it all together. (if pasta is done early it's okay to remove, making sure to reserve some pasta water.)

Top with fresh grated or dried parmesan. If you have some fresh basil, sage, or oregano, then roughly chop it, and mix in about a tablespoon -- I especially like to mix in a bunch of roughly chopped or torn basil leaves.