Garlic spaghetti with paprika and sausage crispy topping

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 200g spaghetti
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 dashes lemon juice
• 1 m.-large bell pepper(s), red
• 1 Vienna sausage
• 2 spring onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp olive oil for frying
• 1 handful of white bread, grated
• e.g. chili pepper(s)
• ½ tsp sautéed thyme
• 1 tbsp parsley
• salt and pepper
• n. B. herbs e.g. Italian herb mix, frozen

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 30 minutes

based on “Aglio e olio”

Slice the Vienna sausages, dice the bell peppers, and thinly slice the spring onions. Finely chop the garlic and chili peppers. Grate the white bread from the previous day or buy it ready-made from the bakery. Cook the spaghetti in salted water as usual. Fry the sausage slices in a pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the diced bell peppers and sauté over medium heat. When the bell peppers are almost tender, add the garlic, chili, and spring onions and sauté for about 2 minutes. Then add the grated bread and toast until golden brown, stirring. Reduce the heat to low and add the herbs; they should just be hot. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add a good ladleful (about 150 ml) of pasta water to the spaghetti, along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the squeeze of lemon juice, plus about 1/3 of the topping. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the spaghetti among plates and top with the remaining topping. This recipe came about because I absolutely love “aglio e olio” (I’m a garlic fan), but just pasta with garlic was a bit boring for me. So I invented the topping. You can play with the spiciness to your liking. And if you prefer a vegetarian option, just leave out the sausage.