I am more of a rice person, so spaghetti is not usually the first thing I think of making.
But this evening, I checked the refrigerator and found only a few things that stood out: shiitake mushrooms and some celery. I also noticed some dried shrimps, and that was enough to give me an idea.
So I decided to make spaghetti.
I don’t really have a proper name for this dish. It was simply something put together from what I had at home, but it turned out well enough that I wanted to record both the recipe and the memory.
What I used
The main ingredients were quite simple:
- Spaghetti
- Garlic
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Celery
- Dried shrimps
- Olive oil
- Black pepper
- Eggs
- Salt
Fresh prawns would probably have been even better, but there were only dried shrimps in the kitchen, so I soaked them in water for a while before cooking.
How I made it
First, I boiled water with a generous amount of salt. Once it came to a boil, I put in the spaghetti and cooked it for about 12 minutes.
While the spaghetti was boiling, I prepared the rest of the ingredients. I peeled the garlic and cut each clove in half. I also cut the shiitake mushrooms into smaller pieces and chopped the celery.
When the spaghetti was done, I removed it quickly and ran it under water. I also kept some of the pasta water aside to use later.
After that, I heated some olive oil and added the garlic. A few minutes later, I added the mushrooms and the soaked dried shrimps, followed by the celery.
After cooking them for a few minutes, I added the spaghetti and stirred it gently, adding a little of the reserved pasta water from time to time.
At the same time, I used a small pan to cook sunny-side-up eggs.
Once everything was ready, I plated the spaghetti and placed the eggs on top. A little black pepper at the end finished it off.
The best part
What pleased me most was not just that the dish came together from what I happened to have in the refrigerator.
It was that nothing was left at the end.
My wife and son loved it, and that made the meal feel even more satisfying.
This was one of those simple home-cooked dishes that came together without much planning but turned into something worth remembering.