ArcaMax

How to Buy Spaghetti Sauce

People write to me all the time and they say something like this: “You taught me how to read labels as part of dieting. I had no idea how many products have sugar in them! I now know sugar is everywhere!”

Sugar may not be everywhere, but it sure feels like it sometimes. It’s work to find brands that don’t add sugar.

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

American Amatriciana

Amatriciana is an Italian dish. Simple and traditional. I am calling this American Amatriciana because the Italian version is made with guanciale or pancetta. I make mine with good ole’ American bacon. This is one of my husband’s favorite dishes. I hope you love it too.

Servings: Serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 Tbl of olive oil
A grate of fresh black pepper
1 cup of chopped onion (Vidalia or white)
2 tsp of garlic (jar garlic will work)
½ tsp of red pepper flakes (or to taste)
24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce (no sugar in the ingredients list). The sauce can be plain marinara or for a twist you can choose one with other ingredients like mushrooms, green pepper etc.
8 slices of cooked bacon. I try to buy no nitrate and no nitrite bacon. My favorite way to cook it hands down is oven bacon. The bacon can be cooked while you make the dish or it can be cooked ahead of time.
4 cups of cooked spaghetti. (I use capellini- also known as thin spaghetti or angel hair spaghetti). This way I get fewer carbs while feeling like I got a nice portion of noodles. You can also make this with zoodles (zucchini noodles) for the Z3 version.
¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Put the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Begin to heat it on medium-high.

Add the pepper, onion and garlic. Sauté on medium-high until the onion is loose and cooked. This will only take a few minutes. Add the pepper flakes and the spaghetti sauce. Stir it all together.

Chop your cooked bacon into large dice. Add that to the sauce.

Cook on medium for about 15 minutes to meld the flavors. Stir often.

Serve on top of the noodles or you can stir them into the sauce. Sprinkle parmesan on top.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola