Pasta with a thin sauce didn’t seem super appropriate for dinner, so I made 12-15: Pasta with Salami and dished it out for lunch as part of a meal prep. While there are a few differences between the recipe card photo and my final product photo, my creation was similar in spirit to the beautifully shot photo below. The place settings are so retro–such a great scene they set.
The exquisite setup showcases the raw ingredients along with the wonderful cutlery and plating of the dish. How magnificent!
This dish was fairly quick to make and relatively inexpensive because I had everything in the pantry except for salami.
The chili sauce really makes the dish. The mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery) provide a palette to absorb the meaty beef bouillon and acidic ketchup to provide a rainbow of flavor. Garlic and salami are also pretty great together. My only regret is not having a better shape of pasta on hand. The penne I had in the pantry was the right size, but not the best shape for collecting some sauce. Conchiglie would be best.
Well, I think I executed the first step adequately. The onions are mostly transparent, some got a little tooooo brown.
Next, add the celery and carrots and mix it all together. I’m going to start the pasta while the veggies finish cooking.
My water started boiling so I tossed the penne in to cook. I put the cover on the pan after I added the water, bouillon, chili sauce, and salami to the pan. The mixture needs to come to boiling and then I’ll turn the heat down to reduce the sauce to concentrate the flavor.
After the sauce cooked down, I added the garlic to cook at the end. This is a lesson I learned well from Cooking Mama back in the day.
It might not be the most colorful, but it’s not a bad final product. The salami and soft vegetables are saturated with flavor and the penne is perfectly cooked. These glass containers are great for lunch sized portions. I divided the dish into 4 as suggested and ate them for lunch each day that week. 12-15: Pasta with Salami was filling and satisfying while not being too heavy, ideal for a lunch that doesn’t give you the itis.
GRADE: B+
