Squid Ink Spaghetti with Blistered Vine Tomato, Chargrilled Asparagus on a rich Tomato and Aubergine Sauce
When I think of spaghetti, I tend to make the classic bolognaise version that made spaghetti famous. But when you want something different, squid ink spaghetti will bring you that edge!
The Squid Ink Spaghetti I used for this dish is made from 100% Durum Wheat. Using both modern extrusion and drying techniques and the ancient rules for making the best pasta.
It has a rougher texture than regular texture which helps to absorb the sauce and seasoning, improving the flavour of your overall dish. You can now enjoy this bronze dye pasta without needing to worry about making it yourself as it is stocked at Pick ‘n Pay. As you can hear, I’m a fan, and I am sure that once you’ve tried it, you will be too! In the recipe below, I blistered some vine tomato in the oven and served the dish with chargrilled asparagus on a rich tomato and aubergine sauce.
Recipe to make Squid Ink Spaghetti with Blistered Vine Tomato, Chargrilled Asparagus on a rich Tomato and Aubergine Sauce
Ingredients
(enough to make 4 servings)
200 g Asparagus Spears
2 cans of Diced Tomatoes
1 Aubergine
120g PnP Baby Asparagus
200g Denny Brown Mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
How to Prepare this Squid Ink Spaghetti Dish
Generously coat the cherry tomatoes and asparagus in olive oil and season with black pepper and salt.
In a searing hot pan, blister the cherry tomatoes and asparagus.
In an oven dish, place 2cm slices of aubergine onto a baking tray and bake till soft at 180 degrees.
Add a whole diced onion to a pan and brown.
Add the two cans of diced tomatoes and reduce by a third.
Add the aubergine when cooked and then cook for 10 minutes.
Add the aubergine, diced tomato and onion mixture to a blender and pulse until smooth.
Use the same pan used to fry the onion to fry the mushroom slices.
In a separate pot, boil the squid ink die cut pasta until al dente. As a guideline, use 1 litre boiling water per 100 g of dry pasta. Only add the pasta when the water is boiling. Stir the pasta lightly after adding it to the pot, but don’t continuously stir. The pasta should be al dente (tender, but firm) when cooked for 10-12 minutes. Drain in a strainer, but don’t leave it to stand as it’ll take the shape of the strainer and become stogy. Pasta tastes best when served immediately after cooking.
Time to plate!
Spoon a generous serving of onion, aubergine and tomato sauce to your serving dish.
Pick up a portion of the cooked spaghetti with a set of tongs and place on top of the sauce.
Next, top with the blistered tomatoes, asparagus and mushrooms.
Finally, sprinkle over grated Parmesan and grind generous amounts of fresh black pepper.
Enjoy! Please tag me on Instagram if you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to see it!
More Pasta Recipes
Why not try one of my other pasta recipes? Whether you are looking for a vegetarian ravioli, a stone-ground pizza or handrolled pasta, I’ve got you covered!
And if you don’t see what you’re looking for, get in touch and let me know what I should publish next!
About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (6), Olivia (4) and Harvey (2).
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