Please help me fix my spaghetti

[carbonel]

I'm hoping some of the foodies on DW can provide some inspiration.

On Monday, I made this recipe from Hello Fresh. It's ragu spaghetti with zucchini, and comes with a little bottle of pepperolio (which appears to be indistinguishable from my Chinese chili oil) to spice it up.

Both Lydy (who had a taste) and I agreed that it was edible, tasty even, but bland. This despite the fact that it had onions, fresh garlic, and a generous helping of Italian seasoning (containing garlic, black pepper, parsley, basil, and oregano), plus some of the pepperolio. I don't remember blandness being a problem the last time I made this recipe. This time, the Hello Fresh had a rather larger onion and zucchini than the time before, but that shouldn't have made a significant difference. The only other difference I can think of is that last time I was on my own, and I left the sauce to simmer for about 20 minutes; this time, I was running late, and I only went with the minimum mandated 5 minutes.

I still have more than half of the spaghetti left, so if I can figure out what I can add to it to improve it, that would be nice. I would appreciate suggestions. I also have lots more of the Italian seasoning, since most of the recipes that use it call for half a packet. I have a decent but not luxurious spice shelf in addition to that.

I know that a lot of spaghetti sauce has some sugar in it, but I'm loath to add that without a strong recommendation. I can add more pepperolio, but spicy hot isn't necessarily a substitute for flavor.

Any other ideas?

Comments

[graydon]

Fat is flavour.

I don't think the issue is likely to be insufficient flavour inputs; I suspect the issue is likely to be a combination of lean beef and not enough time for the flavours to combine. (Plus zucchini can be a fat mop, which will inhibit the spread of the flavours. A big bland zucchini can blandify its surroundings.)

I'd try heating the sauce back up and giving it half an hour to simmer, stirring a couple tablespoons of olive oil in at the start. If (I'm not sure) you've got the sauce already on spaghetti, I might try the same but adding enough water to be sure it won't stick (and thus burn) while it heats back up, and then time the simmer by how long it takes the sauce to thicken back up as the water boils off.

[carbonel]

Thanks, this was very helpful. (Also to jenett and bibliophile.)

Because the noodles suck up water, even in the refrigerator, I had to add almost two cups of water to get it saucy again. I did add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in, two -- and some chopped-up matchstick carrots that were almost past their date but still usable. And some salt, for good measure.

In the end, it was...better, but still missing something. And I think the something was tomatoes. I think there was so much stuff that it overwhelmed the box of crushed tomatoes that came in the bag.

I still have almost a quart of leftovers, though a lot of that is swollen spaghetti and extra water. I think I'm going to pick up a can (or two, so I'll have it next time) of tomato puree, and add a bunch of that to the leftover spaghetti.

(I am inexorably reminded of the chapter of The Peterkin Papers where the family accidentally put salt in their morning coffee instead of sugar, and put all sorts of things in it to try to fix it, until the lady from Philadelphia suggests that they just make a new batch of coffee, which had never occurred to them. But my spaghetti wasn't ruined, just missing something.)

[timill]

I was going to suggest "tomato sauce" as being more liquid than puree.

And then I thought: "sauce" not ketchup, as in the UK tomato sauce = tomato ketchup.

And then: why not ketchup for the extra flavor? Might work...

[carbonel]

From a rational point of view, tomato ketchup is only appropriate if one wants a hefty dose of sugar and vinegar along with the tomato. I'm not sure I'd want that in my spaghetti sauce.

Totally irrationally, I have a mild squick about using ketchup as an ingredient for cooking purposes, though I'm happy to use it as a condiment for French fries and hamburgers.

[graydon]

Hurrah, utility!

Getting the veggies to balance is definitely a trick!

If you ever get tempted to heave in sun dried tomatoes for the definite and unquestioned tomato flavour, remember to heave them in in very small pieces so the flavour may be evenly distributed.

[jenett]

I agree about the fat.

If you have a carrot, I might dice that up and throw it in with the zuccini - they will add the dimension of sugar without being straight sugar. (It doesn't need to be a very big carrot for this to work.)

It's also possible a small splash of vinegar (or wine or lemon juice) wouldn't hurt. One of the three generally improves most foods for my tastebuds.

[snippy]

This. Most red sauce for spaghetti needs acid, especially if you've already added fat and still can't get the flavor you want.

[bibliofile]

Salt? Did you use it one time and not the other? Salt is a flavor enhancer, so the difference can be notable without registering as salty, asyouknowbob.

(Not a foodie.)

[dancing_crow]

Salt makes everything better! For me.

[anne]

I always add a glug of red wine vinegar. Sometimes a splash if I'm using my small pot.