Adapted from Donna Hay’s The New Classics
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 16-ounce box of thin spaghetti (I prefer to use thin spaghetti, for both the look and the more delicate texture.)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried chili flakes
- 1 pound of ground sirloin
- 2 tablespoons thyme leaves, minced
- 2 teaspoons superfine sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup dry white wine
- Salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice plus one tablespoon of lemon rind, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 14 ounces grape and cherry tomatoes, half red and half green, or a mixture of different colored heirloom tomatoes
- ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted
- 3 tablespoons microgreens and baby herbs: basil, thyme, watercress
- Parmesan, grated finely for dusting just before serving
Directions
Cook spaghetti at a rolling boil in water that has been salted and sprayed with a bit of olive oil for 8-10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta and set aside in warm pan.- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan at high, and add the ground sirloin, garlic, thyme and chili flakes.
- Stir the mixture, breaking up clumps of beef until browned.
- Add sugar and tomato paste and mix in.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add wine and cook for another 5 minutes until the liquid is reduced, before adding remaining olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and lemon rind.
- Remove from heat, scraping the mixture into one corner of the frying pan.
- Add the cooked spaghetti to another third of the frying pan, and the tomatoes and olives into the last third of the pan.
- Sprinkle with microgreens and herbs, and top with freshly grated parmesan. Serve immediately.
