# Spaghetti with Bulgarian Cured Meats and Capers

Puttanesca-ish pasta using expiring sliced deli meats in place of anchovies/olives. The salty, cured meats pair well with the briny capers and tomato sauce.

## Ingredients

**From inventory:**
- [ ] ~280g round lukanka salami sliced (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-05-15) ⚠️ expiring — use it all
- [ ] ~100g Babek sliced `EAN:4056489474340` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-05-15) ⚠️ expiring
- [ ] ~100g kaiservrat neck sliced `EAN:2420520002823` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-05-15) ⚠️ expiring
- [ ] 105g Greek capers in brine `ID:capers-greek` (food3-canned, bb:2026-05-31) ⚠️ expiring
- [ ] 500g passata `ID:passata-combino` (food2-spreads, bb:2027-06)
- [ ] 400g spaghetti `ID:spaghetti-lidl-0117` (food2-bag, bb:2028-10-14)
- [ ] Olive oil `ID:oliveoil-costadoro` (pantry-spice-stove)
- [ ] Dried basil `ID:basil-dried-ab` (F-13, bb:2030-01)
- [ ] Black pepper `ID:pepper-black-harmony` (F-13)
- [ ] Smoked paprika `ID:paprika-smoked-kotanyi` (F-13, bb:2026-03) ⚠️ expired — quality check before use (smell it; smoked paprika is usually fine well past date)

**Optional from inventory:**
- [ ] 1 tbsp tomato paste (food1-canned, bb:2028-05-11) — adds depth

**Needs shopping:**
- [ ] 🛒 1 onion
- [ ] 🛒 3–4 garlic cloves

## Equipment

Boat kitchen: one frying pan + one pot for pasta. No oven needed.

## Instructions

1. Slice the deli meats into strips or rough bite-size chunks. Keep the types separate so you can add them at staggered times (lukanka last — it's fattiest).
2. Heat a glug of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Fry onion until soft and translucent, ~6 min.
3. Add garlic, stir 1 min.
4. Add babek and kaiservrat first (leaner), fry ~3 min, then add lukanka. Fry everything together until the meats start to crisp at the edges, ~4–5 min more.
5. If using tomato paste: push meat to the side, add paste to the bare pan, let it caramelise 1 min, then stir everything together.
6. Pour in the passata. Add dried basil, a pinch of smoked paprika, black pepper. Stir and simmer uncovered 12–15 min.
7. Rinse capers briefly (they're already salty) and stir in for the last 3 min.
8. Cook spaghetti in well-salted water until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining.
9. Toss pasta into the sauce, loosen with pasta water as needed, serve immediately.

> **Note:** Taste before adding any salt — the cured meats and capers contribute a lot of saltiness already.

> **Deviation from tradition:** Puttanesca uses anchovies and olives; here Bulgarian cured pork does the heavy lifting. The fat from the meats replaces the anchovy umami reasonably well.

## Items used from inventory

| Item | ID | Location | Status |
|------|-----|----------|--------|
| Round lukanka salami sliced | (no ID, EAN:20379575) | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-05-15 ⚠️ |
| Babek sliced | EAN:4056489474340 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-05-15 ⚠️ |
| Kaiservrat neck sliced | EAN:2420520002823 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-05-15 ⚠️ |
| Greek capers in brine | capers-greek | food3-canned | bb:2026-05-31 ⚠️ |
| Passata | passata-combino | food2-spreads | bb:2027-06 |
| Spaghetti | spaghetti-lidl-0117 | food2-bag | bb:2028-10-14 |

---

*Generated 2026-05-08 to use expiring deli meats (bb:2026-05-15) and capers (bb:2026-05-31)*