The Depression-Era Pasta Dish That Made Use Of Condensed Soup And Spices - Tasting Table

"Foods people ate during the Great Depression tended to include carb-heavy and starchy ingredients, including rice and potatoes, in addition to canned goods like tinned fish and condensed soups. One pasta dish that is seeing a resurgence in popularity is known as Irish-Italian spaghetti, notable for its use of canned condensed tomato soup and canned cream of mushroom soup to create a filling and flavorful sauce."

"Albeit a far cry from traditional, this dish exemplified the notion that necessity is the mother of invention. In fact, a recipe for Irish-Italian spaghetti was featured in a 1940 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine and is still highly sought-after today. The basic ingredients include lean ground beef, chopped onion, the two condensed soups, a dash of cayenne pepper, bottled hot sauce, black pepper, chili powder, and shredded Parmesan cheese to complement a pound of spaghetti."

"Start by cooking the ground beef and draining any excess fat before adding the chopped onions, soup, spices, and sauces. Let it simmer over medium heat before cooking your choice of pasta, draining, and combining with the cooked sauce. It's also a good idea to reserve some of the pasta water to add to your sauce to enrich it with some of the starch. Finish with Parmesan cheese."

Irish-Italian spaghetti is a Depression-era pasta that pairs canned condensed tomato soup and cream-of-mushroom soup with ground beef and spaghetti to make an economical, flavorful meal. People during the Great Depression relied on carb-heavy staples and canned goods like tinned fish and condensed soups to stretch food budgets. The recipe surfaced in a 1940 Better Homes and Gardens issue and traditionally calls for chopped onion, cayenne, bottled hot sauce, black pepper, chili powder, and shredded Parmesan. The preparation involves browning beef, adding soups and spices, simmering the sauce, cooking and draining pasta, combining with reserved pasta water, and finishing with Parmesan.

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