No oil arrabiata

Traditional arrabiata in my mind always comes about too oily and too fiery. I'm really not a fan of oily stuff, and it's always hard to get the proportions of oil right.

However, last week, I came across a particularly tomoto-ey version by CBTL, with a nice tomato-based sauce and served with nice chorizo sausages for that smokey taste - hey why not!

Here's my recreation, made slightly sweeter cos B doesn't like sour stuff (ie he hates tomatoes) and also less spicy for me. I added barley because I usually find my sauces too thin - the barley gave the sauce a good 'saucy' consistency, and the barley texture gave it a nice mealy texture. The bonus was that in the tomato base, the texture and feel made it taste like baked beans! Keep it overnight and see how the sausages and barley bloats up!
Ingredients (Serves 3)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can water
1 packet (about 10) chicken franks sausages (or chorizos if you have them), cut into chunks
3 tbls chopped garlic
3 tbls chilli flakes (more if you dare!)
1 tbls chopped onions
2 tbls barley
3 tbls ketchup
1 tsp granulated chicken stock (I use the squeezy packets so it's simplier)
4 tsp sugar
Grated black pepper
Oregano or Basil
2 tbls Olive oil
Pasta for 3
Grated parmesan

Method
1. Saute onions and olive oil. Add garlic but do not brown the garlic.
2. Saute the chicken franks.
3. Add the chilli flakes and stir fry briefly.
4. Pour in the canned tomatoes. Stir. Using the same can, fill up with water and pour into the pot.
5. Add the barley.
6. Season with oregano or basil, black pepper, tomato sauce and chicken stock.
7. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary. Usually the chicken franks add enough salt to the sauce for me.
8. Cook pasta as per instructions on the packet.
9. Serve with grated parmesan.