If you’re lucky enough to have access to a Grocery Outlet (I believe they’re only ubiquitous in California, Oregon and Washington, although other regions of the U.S. probably have something comparable), here’s a tip for you: Check the frozen-foods aisle for sausage. They have it in the regular meat area, but it’s nowhere near as cheap as the frozen stuff—several times now I was able to find Johnsonville Italian sausage for $1.79 a pound. At this rate it’s cheaper than beef or pork, and it makes a superb pasta sauce. It’s not quite as quick and easy as the bacon and tomato cream sauce I posted a few days ago, but it’s amazingly flavorful and allows you to stretch less than $2 worth of sausage into almost 6 servings.
Recipe adapted from Food and Wine magazine. Almost all the ingredients below were also purchased from Grocery Outlet.
A word of warning: The sausage mixture is best marinated overnight in the fridge.
• 1 lb. spaghetti: 79 cents
• 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed: $1.79
• 1 28-oz. can plus 1 14-oz. can whole tomatoes, chopped in a food processor: $1.79
• 1 1/3 cups dry white wine (perfectly respectable wine for cooking can be found at pretty much any store for $2.99/bottle): $1.21
• 4 garlic cloves: 4 cents
• 1 tsp ground fennel (I recommend buying whole seeds in bulk and grinding them in a spice grinder): 5 cents
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes: 2 cents
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper: 1 cent
• 1/4 cup olive oil: 24 cents
• 1 onion, chopped: 20 cents
• 1 carrot, chopped: 3 cents
• 1 celery, chopped: 9 cents
• Grated Parmesan: $1
• Salt: 1 cent
• Large handful of Italian parsley, chopped (garden): $0
TOTAL: $7.26/5 = $1.45/serving
Puree the garlic and 1/3 cup wine in a blender until smooth. (You may have to cut the garlic up into pieces for this to work the first time.) Pour the mixture into a bowl with the sausage, fennel, and both kinds of pepper, knead to combine. Let sit overnight in the fridge. (Or for as long as you have, but overnight does make a difference.)
Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage mixture and cook until browned, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. Add the mirepoix (onion, carrot and celery) and cook until softened, another 5-6 minutes.
Add the 1 cup wine and cook until wine has evaporated, another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 40-45 minutes. Season to taste. (I added the parsley after this time, but I don’t think I’d do it again. It’s better as a garnish.)
Cook the pasta to al dente in boiling salted water. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to combine, adding pasta water if needed to loosen consistency. Serve garnished with cheese and parsley.
The $35 a Week Project 