Improvised leftover weeknight pasta

Made a simple pasta tonight, using some spare minced meat and a batch of leftover (previously boiled) pasta I had sitting in the fridge. The pasta had been sitting for a couple of days, so it had dried enough to handle another few minutes of cooking in today’s sauce, whilst still staying al dente in the end. Funny how pasta essentially uncooks itself after some time in the fridge.

I fried up the minced meat, deglazed the pan with some water, and then threw in a tablespoon of a random satay / chili sauce I had completely forgotten about, from the depths of my fridge. I then mixed in some cream and let it bubble away for a few minutes.

Upon tasting, the sauce was overwhelmingly spicy, so I added some sugar and a bit of extra cream towards the end, to counteract the spiciness. Lastly, I finished off the sauce with some good parm, both mixed in the sauce and on top.

Verdict: Surprisingly spicy, but also surprisingly good, with a deep savory kick to it. I love this type of simple dish, where I get to experiment with whatever random stuff I have in the fridge. I always learn a lot from it!