Spageti ak Aransò (Spaghetti w/Smoked Herring)

September 7, 2019

30 minutes

super easy

serves 1

So here we are again with another recipe featuring my newly favorite fish (newly meaning within the last 6 years or so) smoked herring. It’s great in creamed cornmeal (polenta), in sauce, in patties, and especially in spaghetti which is the deliciousness, we’ll be talking about today.

The ingredients for this recipe are pretty straightforward and simple and can be found all over the world, I believe. The only ingredient I’m iffy about is the smoked herring but I don’t see why it wouldn’t be available in other countries, it’s fish for crying out loud.

When I de-bone the herring I like to take about 90% of the bones out which can take a long time. Most people leave them in especially in Haiti, I noticed that while eating dishes prepared with herring. Finding a lot of bones in my food kind of ruins it for me so I just take them out.

I have to address the elephant in the room, this is not your typical spaghetti recipe. It is different in the sense that spaghetti is usually boiled separately from the meat sauce right? Well normally yes but not in this recipe, we boil the spaghetti noodles in the sauce, yes I know it sounds weird but it works really well… trust me! When my mom was teaching me this method I thought um, no mom (what do I know compared to her right?). She explained that all the flavor of the sauce would be infused in the spaghetti when cooked that way. As I skeptically watched this recipe unfold it made perfect sense, and tasting it solidified her logic.

Please try this recipe out and let me know what you think!!!

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Ingredients

Adjust Servings

	1 (16 oz) box of thin spaghetti pasta #9
	3-4 fillets of Smoked Herring (Aransò)
	1/8 cup epis
	1 cup onions, sliced
	2-3 garlic cloves, crushed or diced
	½ scotch bonnet pepper, diced, seeds removed
	2 ½ -3tablespoons tomato paste
	⅛ cup oil
	2 tablespoons butter
	1 bouillon cube
	1 slice American cheese (optional)
	½ teaspoon salt (salt to taste)
	½ teaspoon garlic powder
	½ teaspoon onion powder
	1/8 teaspoon of clove powder
	2 sprigs thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

1.

De-salt herring. In a small pot add herring and cover with water. Bring to a boil then discard water. Allow it to cool before handling.

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2.

Shred herring, try to remove as many of the thin bones as you can. All do not need to be removed.

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3.

On low-medium heat in a pan add oil, onions, bell peppers, garlic, hot pepper,herring, epis and sautée for about 2 minutes or until vegetables are noticeably soft. Add bouillon cube, tomato paste and continue to sautée for another 2 minutes.

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4.

Add 6 ½ cups water, dry seasoning, thyme and bring to a boil. Add spaghetti to pan and let boil for 15 to 20 minutes. The liquid will decrease at this point, add cheese, butter and stir that in until melted and well distributed.

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5.

Serve alone or with a salad or buttered bread.

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Notes

I add about 3-5 seeds from the scotch bonnet pepper to give it a little spiciness but not too overpowering. If you like a lot of heat add all of the seeds. 2. Taste for salt before adding the spaghetti and adjust as necessary.