Cart Drivers’ Spaghetti Recipe

Cart Drivers’ spaghetti is a pasta of tuna, pancetta and porcini mushrooms in a slow-simmered tomato sauce, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes. It feeds 4 and uses mostly pantry staples, so it works well for a weeknight when the fridge is nearly empty.

Why This Recipe Works

Soaking the dried porcini in warm water does two jobs. It softens the mushrooms, and it makes a dark, earthy liquid. That liquid goes back into the sauce at the end, so the whole pan tastes of mushroom.

Frying the garlic gently in olive oil, then browning the pancetta, builds the base before any tomato goes in. The pancetta fat flavors the oil, and the tuna and porcini then cook in that seasoned oil for a few minutes.

The sauce simmers for 20 minutes before the mushroom liquid goes in. Simmering first lets the tomatoes cook down and lose their raw edge. The soaking liquid at the end is only a seasoning, so you add just a few spoonfuls.

Cart Drivers’ Spaghetti Ingredients

For the sauce

• 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
• 1 (7-ounce) can tuna in oil, drained
• 1 pound 5 ounces pomodorini (very sweet cherry tomatoes), chopped, or 1 pound 2 ounces passata or chopped tomatoes
• Salt

For the pasta

• 14 ounces spaghetti (fresh or dried)
• Salt, for the pasta water
• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
• Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve (optional)

How To Make Cart Drivers’ Spaghetti

Make the sauce

1. Soak the porcini: Cover the dried porcini with warm water and leave them for 30 minutes. Drain them, keeping the soaking liquid, and chop them.
2. Soften the garlic: Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the crushed garlic. Fry it gently until it softens, so it turns sweet and doesn’t taste bitter.
3. Brown the pancetta: Add the pancetta and let it brown a little. The fat that melts out flavors the oil for everything that follows.
4. Fry the porcini and tuna: Stir in the chopped porcini and the drained tuna. Fry them for a few minutes so they take on the flavor of the oil.
5. Simmer the tomatoes: Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, then simmer for 20 minutes. The tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens.
6. Add the mushroom liquid: Stir in a few spoonfuls of the porcini soaking liquid, just enough to flavor the sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes longer.

Cook the pasta and finish

7. Boil the spaghetti: Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, following the package instructions, until al dente. Drain it well.
8. Toss and serve: Mix the drained spaghetti with the sauce. Season with black pepper if you like, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Recipe Tips

• Strain the soaking liquid: Dried porcini can leave a little grit at the bottom of the bowl. Pour the liquid off slowly, or pass it through a coffee filter, before it goes in the sauce.
• Go easy on the salt: Pancetta, tuna and Parmesan are all salty. Taste the sauce after the simmer before you add more salt.
• Pick sweet tomatoes: Ripe cherry tomatoes give the best flavor. If they are out of season, passata or good canned chopped tomatoes work better than pale fresh ones.
• Add the liquid a spoonful at a time: The mushroom liquid is strong. A few spoonfuls add depth, but too much makes the sauce thin and muddy.

What To Serve With Cart Drivers’ Spaghetti

Serve the spaghetti right away in warm bowls, with Parmesan at the table. A simple green salad with lemon dressing and some crusty bread for the leftover sauce round it out.

How To Store

• Fridge: Keep leftover pasta in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Reheat: Warm it in a skillet over medium heat with a splash of water, stirring, until it is hot all the way through.
• Make ahead: The sauce keeps well on its own for up to 3 days in the fridge. Make it ahead and cook the spaghetti just before you eat.

FAQs

Can I use fresh mushrooms instead of dried porcini?

You can, but the flavor will be milder. Dried porcini are much more concentrated, and their soaking liquid is a big part of the sauce. If you use fresh mushrooms, cook them until the water has dried out of the pan, and skip the soaking liquid.

Can I leave out the pancetta?

Yes. The sauce will taste lighter and less savory. Add a little more olive oil and a pinch more salt to make up for it, and the dish is still not vegetarian because of the tuna.

Is Cart Drivers’ spaghetti gluten free?

Not as written, because regular spaghetti contains wheat. The sauce has no gluten ingredients, so you can serve it over gluten-free spaghetti cooked to its package directions.

Why is my sauce too thin?

Most often the tomatoes were not simmered long enough, or too much mushroom liquid went in. Let the sauce simmer a few minutes longer with the pan uncovered until it coats a spoon.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving (1 of 4), worked out from the ingredients.

• Calories: about 720 kcal
• Total Fat: 28g
• Total Carbohydrate: 84g
• Dietary Fiber: 6g
• Protein: 32g

Cart Drivers’ Spaghetti

Recipe by Paula

0.0 from 0 votes

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Total time

70

minutes

Spaghetti tossed with a sauce of tuna, pancetta and porcini mushrooms simmered in sweet tomatoes. A pantry-friendly dinner for 4, finished with a splash of mushroom soaking liquid.

Ingredients

• For the sauce

• 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 2 ounces pancetta, finely chopped

• 1 (7-ounce) can tuna in oil, drained

• 1 pound 5 ounces pomodorini (very sweet cherry tomatoes), chopped, or 1 pound 2 ounces passata or chopped tomatoes

• Salt

• For the pasta

• 14 ounces spaghetti (fresh or dried)

• Salt, for the pasta water

• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

• Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve (optional)

Directions

• Soak the porcini: Cover the dried porcini with warm water and leave them for 30 minutes. Drain them, keeping the soaking liquid, and chop them.
• Soften the garlic: Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the crushed garlic. Fry it gently until it softens, so it turns sweet and doesn’t taste bitter.
• Brown the pancetta: Add the pancetta and let it brown a little. The fat that melts out flavors the oil for everything that follows.
• Fry the porcini and tuna: Stir in the chopped porcini and the drained tuna. Fry them for a few minutes so they take on the flavor of the oil.
• Simmer the tomatoes: Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, then simmer for 20 minutes. The tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens.
• Add the mushroom liquid: Stir in a few spoonfuls of the porcini soaking liquid, just enough to flavor the sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes longer.
• Boil the spaghetti: Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, following the package instructions, until al dente. Drain it well.
• Toss and serve: Mix the drained spaghetti with the sauce. Season with black pepper if you like, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.