Spaghetti with Spiced Meat Sauce

I was not in the mood to make anything complicated and fancy because I was feeling a bit hungover from Saturday night outing so I made this simple & quick pasta dish using Martha Stewart’s recipe. I substituted the rigatoni with organic spaghetti and used ground veal instead and I used the whole (12 oz) can of tomato paste and pasta water to help thicken the sauce and add more flavor. It turned out really good and we didn’t even need to add grated parmesan cheese on top because it’s already so tasty.


Ingredients:
12 ounces spaghetti (or other pasta)
1 pound ground veal
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 12oz can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Serrano pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
¼ cup roughly chopped parsley

Directions:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente; drain, and return to pot. Set aside.
• While pasta is cooking, cook lamb in a large saucepan over medium-high, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
  
• Add Serrano pepper, onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper.
  
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste and cinnamon, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  
• Add 2 cups of pasta water; bring to a boil.
  
• Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.
  
• Stir in vinegar, and season again with salt and pepper.
  
• Add pasta to the sauce pot and the chopped parsley, and toss to combine.