Corned Beef Spaghetti with Bird's Eye Chillies and Basil Leaves

Okay so I have this habit of taking photos via Instagram and forget to use my own camera. So I figured I'd use my instagram photos instead to kill two birds with one stone.

I've always been meaning to make this pasta. I remember a friend talking about it and how his relatives raved about it. Then somehow I saw a tv show that also did something with corned beef. Making it from scratch that is. But time is of the essence and this dish took probably 15 minutes in total to prepare and cook.

So what went in?

Ingredients:

Half a can of corned beef (Yes, this is a quick dish as you can see)

2 birds eye chillies - finely sliced

1 bulb of garlic - finely diced

A bunch of coriander leaves - should be about a handful - finely chopped

A bunch of basil leaves - whole

olive oil

20 to 30 sticks of dried spaghetti

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Firstly boil up a pot of water filled three quarters of the way. Add some olive oil and salt to the water while waiting.
2. When the water looks like there are mini bubbles starting to form, start to heat up your frying pan. Add in the olive oil to heat up before popping in the chillies and garlic for a quick stirfry. Meanwhile, add in the pasta in the boiling water to cook according to the packet's instructions.
3. When garlic is fragrant, add in half a can of cornef beef and mash it with your cooking spatula or wooden spoon. Making sure to get the beef cooked through.
4. Just then, the pasta should be ready. Remove one to test by either eating it or throwing it against the wall. If it sticks its cooked! If it still a little cruncy to the bite, even better, this means it is al dente. Take a small ladle full of the pasta water to be added to the corned beef pan. Then drain off the remaining water before ladling out the pasta into the corned beef mixture.
5. Then quickly incorporate the pasta with the beef and add in the chopped coriander before switching off the heat. The pepper and salt comes last. But you might not require salt as the corned beef is salty enough.
6. Then dish it up onto a plate and garnish with whole basil leaves.
7. Serve while still piping hot!

This was certainly a hearty dish! And I must say such a quick way to churn out a perfect meal.

I used canned corned beef only because it gives the desired effect. You can still make your own corned beef but that would mean a day's worth of your time. So a decision left to you to decide.

Next in line, using leftovers to make another pasta dish and also the promised recipe for the German Spiessbraten,

The Innovativebaker