Experimenting with a Haitian Spaghetti Recipe

Influenced by traditional Haitian cooking channels, I’ve been practicing making Haitian Spaghetti. Learn a bit more about this dish and get inspired to try your own spin on the recipe!

I plated this version with fresh parsley and hard boiled egg, but you can eat the dish with any condiments, like avocado or even ketchup!

The best way to describe Haitian Spaghetti is “choose your own adventure.” It is really the perfect comfort food. Although it appears complex, it is actually easy to make once all the ingredients come together. The sauce takes some time, but it’s worth the wait.

Tip: Use the whole box of pasta so that you have enough left over to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner/a midnight snack for the rest of the week.

Inspiration

Sendy’s Cooking on YouTube and Instagram

Tools

• Large cast iron skillet

• Large pasta pot

• Cutting board

• Knife

• Mise en place cups and bowls

Ingredients

• Water to cover pasta (reserve 1 cup or sauce)

• Aromatics: garlic, scallions

• 1 lb spaghetti (or long pasta like bucatini)

• Olive oil, enough to coat the pan

• Hot dog (or sausage), sliced

• 1-2 Tbsp epis*

• Scotch bonnet pepper with cloves (can omit)

• 1 tin Smoked herring

• Fresh thyme

• Tomato paste

• Bouillon flavoring

• Creole seasoning

• Bell pepper, chopped

• Red onion, chopped

• Fresh parsley

• Hard-boiled eggs

• Avocado

*Epis

Epis is a traditional Haitian condiment used as a base in nearly all traditional cooking. You can prepare a large batch that will keep for many months. Although there are unique family variations, here is the variation I use:

• White/Yellow Onion

• Celery

• Bell pepper

• Habanero pepper

• Scallions

• Parsley

• Bouillon

• Thyme

• Garlic

• Lime juice

• Olive oil

• White Vinegar

Preparation

1. Boil water with aromatics. Typically this is done with garlic and scallions. For this iteration, I used fresh spring garlic scapes from the Farmers Market. Keep the garlic and scallions whole so that they are easy to discard from the water later on.

2. Heat olive oil in the pan and add meat to brown. I have tried this recipe with different types of sausage and hot dogs, and find that hot dogs are the best.

3. Add seasonings to meat. For this version, I added extra epis—but not too much, since one time I made it far too spicy!—and a tin of smoked herring. Typically in Haitian cooking, you can use a scotch bonnet pepper stuck with whole cloves to add spice.

4. As the seasoning is incorporated, add in tomato paste and bouillon and other Creole seasonings. For this recipe, I used Better than Bouillon and a Creole seasoning blend that my mom makes. The goal here is to mix in a blend of cumin, herbs like parsley and thyme, as well as spicy pepper.

5. Begin to add ~1 cup of pasta water slowly to the mix to make a sauce. Continue to cook the pasta.

6. As pasta is al dente and sauce is thickened, add in vegetables to the meat and spices. In previous iterations, I tried cooking the vegetables as the sauce thickened, but I find that I prefer them to add them later. It is recommended to serve this dish with crispier vegetables, and I agree it is more delicious.

7. Drain the pasta and add it to the meat and vegetable sauce mix, or in my case, add the sauce to the pasta because the pan is too small!

8. Plate to serve with extra condiments and seasoning. I served mine up with a hard boiled egg and fresh parsley. Typical seasonings include fresh lime juice, more epis, avocado, and even ketchup!

Process Pictures

Boil pasta water with aromatics. I used whole garlic clove and chopped spring garlic scapes from the Farmers Market.

Ingredient layout prep with pasta (I opted for bucatini since they were out of spaghetti at the store), sliced meat, chopped veggies and portioned seasonings.

Cooking the meat until brown in oil. Can be hot dog or sausage, but hot dogs are the best!

Adding seasonings to meat. Here I added smoked herring, fresh thyme, and epis.

Add tomato paste and bouillon cube—I used Better than Bouillon—and slowly add pasta water to make a sauce.

Once the sauce is thickened, add vegetables the vegetables: bell pepper and onion. Add the vegetables last to keep them crispy and delicious.

Drain the pasta and separate aromatics. Mix in sauce with pasta in whichever pan makes the most sense.

I served this iteration with parsley, hard-boiled egg, and more epis!