Roasted vegetables vary in moisture, so the sauce can look much thicker on one day than the next. Keep the blender mixture dense at first, then add the reserved pasta water in small splashes once the spaghetti goes in. Its starch helps the sauce hold to the noodles, while whole-wheat spaghetti keeps absorbing liquid after it leaves the pot. If the pan looks a little loose at first, wait briefly before adding more water rather than creating a tomato soup.
Main DishesWhole-Wheat Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato Mascarpone Sauce and Sardines
Roasted tomatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic blend into a thick, naturally sweet sauce with mascarpone. Sardines are warmed through at the end so they stay in tender pieces rather than disappearing into the pan.
Ingredients
For the roasted tomato mascarpone sauce
For the pasta and cooking water
Preparation Steps
Heat the oven and prepare the vegetables
Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Cut the tomatoes, carrots, and onion into rough, evenly sized pieces, and peel the garlic.
Roast the sauce base
Spread the tomatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic on a large baking tray. Coat with olive oil, salt, and black pepper, then roast for 25 minutes, until the tomatoes have collapsed and the carrots are fully tender with browned edges.
Cook the spaghetti
Bring the water to a rolling boil in a large pot. Cook the whole-wheat spaghetti until just tender with a little firmness remaining, following the packet timing; reserve some cooking water before draining.
Blend the sauce
Transfer the roasted vegetables and all their tray juices to a blender with the mascarpone. Blend for about 1 minute until velvety; add reserved pasta cooking water until the sauce is pourable but still thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Finish the pasta
Pour the sauce into a wide pan over low heat. Fold in the sardines and warm for 2 minutes, keeping the pieces mostly intact. Add the spaghetti and toss until coated, loosening with more reserved pasta cooking water if the sauce tightens around the noodles.
Recipe insights
Pasta Water Controls the Final Texture
Keep the Sardines in Pieces
Use low heat and fold the sardines through with a large spoon or tongs. They only need warming, not a prolonged simmer. Repeated stirring will break 250 g of sardines into fish flecks throughout the sauce, which changes both the texture and the point of adding them at the end. Serve as soon as the pasta is evenly coated, before the sauce tightens in the pan.
Make room for your own recipes
A little planning. More good food.
Create recipes with ingredients from our nutrition catalogue and see their nutrition and Feast EAT-Lancet alignment score. Keep your favourites, save your nutrition profile, plan meals by hand and take your shopping list with you.
Free accounts can create up to 10 recipes; a higher limit is coming with a paid plan.
Automatic meal generation and household planning are in beta, with limited access.
Comments
Be the first to comment 👇