Filipino Spaghetti

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Growing up, I thought that a proper plate of spaghetti was sweet and sometimes had chunks of hot dogs in it. I kid you not. Your Italian grandmother would be rolling in her grave knowing that someone was adding sugar and hot dogs to her time-tested recipe.

Fortunately for her, my mother used the one in the Joy of Cooking.

Others may disagree, but I think the essence of Filipino spaghetti is that it is quite sweet. The added sugar complements the tang of the fresh tomatoes in the sauce and makes you want to devour more. Also, the noodles are usually softer than al dente, so that they're really easy to bite through.

There are a few ways to accomplish this.

The dead simple, starving college student way is to get a bottle of mafran, some instant noodles, and a hot dog, cook the noodles, cut up the hot dog, and mix them together.
It beats ketchup and is far more interesting than plain ramen.

The most delicious way is to make a marinara sauce from scratch, get it to the simmering stage, and then add 3 T sugar to it and possibly 1 or 2 hot dogs, cut into bite-sized pieces. When I get enough tomatoes from my CSA box, I'll revisit that sauce, but until then, here is my quick and dirty, vegetarian Filipino spaghetti recipe.

Fast Filipino Spaghetti

1 package spaghetti
Olive oil for drizzling

1 jar marinara sauce (make sure it's made with mushroom or veggie broth)
3 T sugar
1-2 veggie dogs, cut into bite-sized pieces (Smart Dogs are okay, but Yves makes some tasty Italian ones, and ground up soyganisa works too)
Herbs, salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese for topping

1. Heat a pot over medium heat. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer.
2. Stir in the sugar and veggie dogs. Correct the seasoning and keep warm.
3. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. If you want the noodles to be softer, give it 1 more minute in the boiling water before you drain it. Drizzle the noodles with olive oil and toss them to coat. This should prevent them from sticking together too badly.
4. Combine the spaghetti and sauce. Top with parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve hot.

Tagged pasta sweet vegetarian
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