Wuselig Recipes · Recipe 07
Puschel’s Tomato Spaghetti
Fruity tomato sauce, long spaghetti and one noodle that would rather wrap itself around Puschel than his fork.
The little story
The Noodle Without an End
The Wusel kitchen smelled of tomatoes and herbs. Flauschi placed the steaming spaghetti on the table and set a napkin beside each plate. Puschel studied the long noodles with great ambition.
Puschel“I am going to twirl one perfect forkful. Very small, very round and very neat.”
He turned the fork once. Then once more. The spaghetti wound around his paw, wandered across his belly and even made one loose loop around his bushy tail.
Flauschi“Your fork is still quite small. The noodle coil around it is rather less so.”
Puschel tried to find where the noodle began. A few red splashes of tomato sauce landed on his nose, cheek and white belly. The long spaghetti remained intact—and Puschel was almost completely wrapped up.
Puschel“I think this noodle wanted to taste me first.”
Flauschi smiled and handed him the waiting napkin. Together they freed his tail first, then his belly and finally his paw from the noodle loop.
Flauschi“Next time, we only twirl to three.”
Puschel dabbed the sauce from his nose and began again. This time Flauschi counted: one, two, three. The spaghetti stayed on the fork—and tasted wonderfully tomatoey to them both.
Preparation: about 15 minutes · Cooking: about 25 minutes · Total: about 40 minutes
Serves 4
How to make it
In a few words: Cook a simple tomato sauce and mix with freshly cooked spaghetti.
Ingredients
- 400 g spaghetti
- 1 small onion
- 1 small garlic clove (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 800 g canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 small pinch of sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt for the sauce, plus salt for the pasta water
- A little black pepper
- A few fresh basil leaves
- Optional: 50 g finely grated Parmesan or a vegetarian hard-cheese alternative
Method
- Peel the onion and, if using, the garlic. Finely dice the onion and very finely chop the garlic. An adult handles the knife.
- Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Gently cook the onion for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds without letting it brown.
- Stir in the tomato purée and cook for about 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer uncovered over low to medium heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and add salt. Cook the spaghetti until al dente according to the packet instructions. Scoop out about 100 ml pasta water before draining.
- Season the sauce with pepper. If it is very thick, stir in a little pasta water one tablespoon at a time. Mix the drained spaghetti straight into the tomato sauce; do not rinse it under cold water.
- Divide between four plates and serve with basil and optional grated cheese. For young children, cut the spaghetti into shorter pieces on the plate and let it cool well before eating.
Keep exploring
Where shall we wusel next?
Choose how to keep exploring: another story or a related activity.
Something else to giggle at
Things rarely go entirely to plan in Puschel’s Mishaps.
Open Puschel’s Mishaps →Colour together
Free squirrel colouring pages and a little Wusel colouring book are ready to print.
Open colouring pages →