Murakami Kitchen: Spaghetti Recipe Inspired by Haruki Murakami

Spaghetti is probably the most famous dish in Haruki Murakami's fiction. In this Murakami Kitchen recipe, we make a rich, slow-simmered spaghetti sauce inspired by the pasta that shows up throughout his books.

Spaghetti in Murakami's world

Pasta is everywhere in Murakami's writing. It appears in Norwegian Wood, and it is how The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle begins, with the narrator boiling spaghetti when a mysterious phone call interrupts him. There is even a short story named after it, The Year of Spaghetti, about a period when the narrator ate little else, cooked alone.

Our sauce is a complemented variation on the dish. Murakami's works are not cookbooks, and they were written long before anyone could google a recipe. It is easy to make a dish exactly as it appears in the book, but we want recipes that turn out delicious. In the end, the fun is putting together a new dish inspired by a Murakami novel.

Ingredients

• Garlic (whole heads, ends trimmed), plus freshly minced garlic for the pan
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 carrot, washed well (no need to peel)
• 4 to 5 vine tomatoes (we used 5, but 4 is enough)
• About 30 g ginger, roughly a thumb's worth
• Light-coloured olive oil
• Ground beef
• Salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar
• 100 ml water
• 150 ml tomato paste (one can)
• Unsalted bone broth (homemade is best)
• 450 ml canned tomatoes
• Oregano, basil and parsley
• 1 tbsp curry powder, our secret ingredient
• Freshly grated Parmesan, to taste
• Spaghetti and 2 tbsp sea salt for the water
• Basil leaf for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (about 10 minutes). Cut the ends off the garlic bulbs, peel away the loose skin, place them close together in a foil-lined pan, and seal with foil. Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes.
2. Slice the onion (no need to dice it). Wearing swimming goggles helps with the tears. Chop the carrot, tomatoes and ginger loosely.
3. Heat a frying pan with a good amount of olive oil, then lower the heat. Add the minced garlic and cook slowly until golden brown without burning.
4. Add the ground beef with two pinches of salt, raise the heat to high, and break it apart. Once cooked, add the pepper (earlier and it can burn). Move the beef to a large pot. Do not wash the pan: the browned bits add flavour.
5. Caramelize the onion in the same pan on high heat with a pinch of sugar and more oil as needed. When it calms down, add 100 ml water and cook until evaporated and deep brown. Add to the pot.
6. Sauté the tomatoes on high with a pinch of salt until soft and watery. Stir in the 150 ml tomato paste, then add to the pot.
7. Add the broth, herbs, carrot, ginger and 450 ml canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil first, then blend until smooth.
8. Squeeze the roasted garlic from the skins and strain it through a sieve (it will be very soft and creamy). Stir in what passes through.
9. Add 1 tbsp curry powder. Simmer on medium for 45 minutes, then low for another 45. It should be thick and textured.
10. Stir in freshly grated Parmesan to taste, but go lightly, since too much will make the sauce salty.
11. Boil water with 2 tbsp sea salt and cook the spaghetti al dente, following the packet (we set an 11-minute timer).
12. For one serving, heat two ladles of sauce until bubbling, add the pasta, and toss for about 2 minutes. Top with Parmesan and a basil leaf.

Serving

We pair it with Perrier, which goes well with any savoury dish and which Murakami loves, too. We were happy with the sauce and the texture of the pasta, and will be making this more often.

Harukists, what is your favourite Murakami meal? If you like spaghetti, try our cucumber sandwich next.