Dominican Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 1 box Spaghetti
• 1 Onion
• 1 Green Pepper
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp Chicken Bouillon Cube or Adobo
• 1 tbsp Sazón
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 cup Tomato Sauce
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1/4 cup Evaporated Milk
• 2 tbsp Green Olives
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 cup Starchy Pasta Water
• to taste Black Pepper

Method

Salt your pasta water heavily and bring to a rolling boil. Cook the spaghetti to al dente — it'll continue to soften in the sauce, so don't go soft at this stage. Reserve 240ml of starchy cooking water before draining.

While the pasta cooks, start the sauteing|sautéing. Melt butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Dice the onion and green pepper into small, even pieces — this matters because they need to soften in the time you've got. Add them with a pinch of salt; the salt draws out moisture and speeds the breakdown of cell walls. After 4–5 minutes, when they're translucent at the edges, add minced garlic. Cook for another 90 seconds until fragrant, but no longer — garlic burns quickly and turns acrid.

Crumble in the chicken bouillon cube or Adobo, sprinkle the Sazón, then add the tomato paste. This is the base of your comfort-food — stir it through the vegetables for 2 minutes so the paste caramelises slightly and loses its raw edge. This development happens at medium heat; too high and you'll char it. Add the tomato sauce and the reserved pasta water. The starch in that water acts as a thickener and carries flavour; this is why you save it. Bring to a simmer and hold for 5 minutes. The simmer softens the raw edge of the Sazón and lets the aromatic-vegetables|aromatics flavours marry into the liquid.

Add the evaporated milk, which will curdle slightly when it hits hot tomato acid — this is correct and intentional. It creates a silky mouthfeel and stabilises the sauce emulsion. Stir in the sugar (it balances acidity, not sweetness at this proportion), butter, and olives. Taste and adjust salt and black pepper. The sauce should taste slightly more seasoned than you want the final dish to be, because the unseasoned pasta will dilute it.

Add the hot spaghetti and toss for 30 seconds so each strand coats evenly. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with a splash more pasta water. The texture should be creamy but clingy, not soupy. Serve immediately in wide bowls.