This recipe was literally created on the journey home from work. I had a mental picture in my head of what I had left in the fridge, cupboard and wherever else I hid food in the kitchen. I knew I had some soft cheese left over from making the Raspberry Cheesecake Brownie, I had some sun-dried tomatoes which I had bought yonks ago and had been meaning to use at some point; I also had several packets of savoury seed and oat sprinkles.
Soft cheese is a great base for sauces whether combined with salmon or vegetables. And so flowing from that I thought, spaghetti would do a good job of soaking up that creamy sauce to make a filling evening meal (which could roll over to form my lunch the next day).
Out of the selection of savoury sprinkles, I picked the Italian Salad Sprinkle as I thought the mix of toasted pine nuts, sunflower seeds and red onion would add a nice crunch and sweetness to the dish. And it really did! I used half the packet and saved the rest for the next day when I would enjoy the same meal again, this time for lunch!
Creamy Spaghetti with Italian Style Sprinkles
Ingredients:
1/2 packet of Spaghetti
11-12 large sun-dried tomato slices (with 2 tbsp of its oil)
3 garlic cloves
1/2 white onion
2 tbsp freshly chopped sage
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 chicken or vegetable stock jelly
2 tbsp soft cream cheese
Salt and black pepper to season to taste
1/2 packet Sainsbury’s Italian Salad Sprinkles
Method
1. Put the Spaghetti to boil in a pot of salted water with a dash of oil. In another pan, saute the onion and garlic in the oil from the sun-dried tomato until soft (under a medium heat)
2. Add the tomato paste and sun-dried tomato (finely sliced into strips) and stir for a couple of minutes
3. Add the chopped sage and chicken stock and a little water from the spaghetti (about 1/4 cup) until the stock jelly has dissolved completely
4. Add the soft cheese and stir into the mixture until fully incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a 1/4 cup of water from the spaghetti
5. When the spaghetti is ready (should be al dente, not too soft), drain and slowly add to the sauce, stirring it in as you go.
6. Season and taste, when ready to serve sprinkle with the Italian Salad Sprinkles.
