Canned pasta is pretty nasty but I remember being broke as fuck working 3 minimum wage jobs barely able to afford rent with very little time or energy and absolutely relishing when I could get home, smoke a bowl, knock a can of beefaroni in a pot with some canned chilis in adobo and sit for 45 goddamn minutes and watch Star Trek.
I think, per dollar, its cheaper to make from scratch, but that’s a lotta time and it’s not all that much cheaper to use a can.
Is it the death of Italian cuisine? Eh, maybe, but Italian cuisine is mid anyway someone should teach them about these crazy things called spices.
Italian cuisine is mid anyway someone should teach them about these crazy things called spices.
What’s your favorite cuisine and where are you eating it?
I started out like this when I was in a similar situation, but I gradually worked myself up to cooking instead, initially just by improving or combining canned food. In the end, I had it pretty much down to cook once for several days and eat so much better as a result. You need to sacrifice a few of those minutes of free time though, so if you don’t enjoy preparing a meal, that’s a big ask after a stressful day or week.
These days I do meal prep on Sundays and prepare around 2-3 weeks of a meal at a time and freeze most of it, thawing them as I need so I have variety.
Mostly curries. Curries are so cheap and easy to do en mass and I can ensure I’m getting a good amount of nutrients and protein.
I make the rice or quinoa every few days so it’s fresh and I always have a hot, cheap, delicious meal ready.
But I also work a 9-5 now. Far less stress.
The only thing I really hate about canned pasta things is that the pasta is usually overcooked and soggy AF; especially spaghetti-like noodles. I’d rather have just the sauce in the can and then I can make my own pasta and have it cooked al dente.
And since carbonara is so easy and cheap, I wouldn’t really get pre-made anyway.
Well, to be fair…the English palette exists
Wait, the article says to use parmesan, eggs, pancetta and spaghetti? Uh, it is pecorino, eggs, guanciale and spaghetti. This is basically the only way to get the best results. You can fuck with any other italian pasta, but carbonara is only good if done exactly with these four ingredients. And of course a ton of black pepper.
I know, I tried every possible combination. The only one that makes sense is the one with pecorino and guanciale.
Cheeky.
And sheepy.
The Brits will lap it up. I lived there. The jokes about thelr food is pretty spot on across a broad swipe of the population.
