Dirty Spaghetti? No, it’s not a Clint Eastwood western. It’s more like New Orleans meets Abruzzo… a recipe that riffs off dirty rice… and a change of pace recipe that called to me! True, I do enjoy tomato based sauces such as Bolognese; and garlic and oil recipes such as broccoli rabe & sausage. But this recipe seemed both safe (meaning familiar main ingredients and seasonings), and new (meaning a trip to places unknown).
Wine? Comfort food (like this tasty spaghetti dish) deserves comfort food wine; and I have a quartet of wines that are my go-to for every-day-serve-it-with-everything drinking: Barbera from Piedmont, Valpolicella from Veneto, Montepulciano from Abruzzo and Côtes du Rhône from France. These wines with different vsrietals from different wine producing zones, and yet they share common personality traits that make their wines interchangeable when it comes to matching them with food. And to prove my point, a spaghetti dish doesn’t demand an Italian wine, a Côtes du Rhônes can work to a “T.” (Conversely, a Valpolicella would do well with Coq au Vin!)
I chose a wine I recently used in a tasting of Value Priced Wines: 2025 Château de Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône. This is an excerpt from my review: “A lush impenetrable hue with flavors and palate presence to match. 100% Syrah, rare for a CDR sourced from vineyards in the Southern Rhône. Delicious, bold without being “over the top”. Other wine recommendations? Any of the aforementioned wines from Italy would do fine, as would Primitivo from Apulia and a modest Sangiovese from Tuscany.
Château de Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône ’25 (Rhône, France)
Saint Cosme Côtes-du-Rhône is produced from 100% Syrah and is from the stony Villafranchian terraces of the Gard. The vineyards are known for their limestone sand, red clay, and pebbles, which give a freshness and intensity to the Syrah grapes. The wine is partially destemmed, fermented with natural yeasts, and vinified in concrete vats. The 2025 is a vibrant, expressive red that showcases the freshness and purity of the southern Rhône. Aromas and flavors of blackberry, black cherry, violet and cracked black pepper are accented by sandalwood and subtle spice, leading to a silky, medium-bodied palate with refined tannins and a long, elegant finish. A versatile and beautifully balanced wine, it’s an excellent companion to grilled meats, roasted vegetables and hearty Mediterranean cuisine.
DIRTY SPAGHETTI
Ingredients
6 ounces of Tanqueray Gin
½ ounce of Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth
3 Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives
A Goodly amount of Ice
1 box Spaghetti
1 lb Ground beef
8 oz Italian Sausage or Andouille Sausage. Diced
1 Red Bell Pepper diced
1 Green Bell Pepper diced
1 Yellow Onion diced
2 Cloves Garlic finely minced
3 tbsp Flour
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 packet of Onion Soup mix
3 cups Beef Broth
Chives
Directions
1. Put gin and vermouth into a glass pitcher, fill with ice, stir vigorously while incanting, “You who know all, thank you for providing us juniper and all the other obscure ingredients responsible for creating this sacred liquid!” Strain into a pre-frozen Martini glass of admirable size. Skewer the olives on one of those tacky cocktail swords, place in glass. Immediately begin consuming. Now you can begin the food prep, and the cooking!
2. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
3. Spray large skillet with Pam. Over medium high heat cook ground beef and diced sausages for 5-7 minutes until browned. Drain excess grease.
4. Add diced peppers and diced onion. Continue to cook for 5-7 minutes ‘til vegetables are softened.
5, Add garlic and cook another 1 minute ‘til fragrant.
6. Sprinkle flour over the skillet and mix well.
7. Add tomato paste, Worcestershire Sauce, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning and onion soup mix. Stir together.
8. Turn heat up to high and pour beef broth 1 cup at a time, stirring between each cup. Continue to cook about 3 minutes, until mixture thickens.
9. Remove from heat. Add spaghetti, thoroughly mixing with meat sauce.
10. Garnish with fresh cut chives & serve.
n.b. I eliminated the green bell pepper (Sandy finds them disagreeable) and used a mix of red, orange & yellow mini-peppers