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Food August 25, 2020

Home cook on TikTok shares simple pasta recipe and helpful kitchen tips

WATCH: Home cook with huge TikTok following shares easy pasta tips

As more and more home cooks continue to crave food content online, more eyes are turning to TikTok for a taste of something new.

Mike Spurlock, who shares videos of twists on classic dishes on TikTok as @spurweezy, joined "Good Morning Ameria" to dish simple tips and a homemade pasta recipe.

PHOTO: TikTok creator Mike Spurlock, aka Spurweezy Eats, joined "GMA" to make his homemade pasta.
TikTok creator Mike Spurlock, aka Spurweezy Eats, joined "GMA" to make his homemade pasta.

The home cook first started recording his culinary prep in the kitchen while he was in a long distance relationship, but since then the videos have taken on a twist of their own, translating into a huge following on the video sharing platform.

@spurweezy

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Check out Spurlock's recipe and tips below!

Simple pasta and sauce from scratch

PHOTO: Mike Spurlock, aka Spurweezy Eats, joined "GMA" to make his homemade pasta.
Mike Spurlock
Mike Spurlock, aka Spurweezy Eats, joined "GMA" to make his homemade pasta.

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients
2 cups of all-purpose flour
Kosher salt to taste
3 eggs
1 tablespoon of olive oil

For sauce
1 stick of butter
3 crushed cloves of garlic
1 chopped onion
28 oz. can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Optional additions
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil

Directions

Mix the dry pasta ingredients in a large bowl and create a well in the center. Add the eggs and oil to the center of the well and begin mixing until most of the wet and dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough is shaggy.

Transfer to a flat surface and begin to knead the dough (adding a small pinch of flour at a time) until a smooth surface forms.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or an upside down bowl and let the dough rest for at least 45 minutes.

Roll and cut dough into long thin noodles but be sure to toss the pasta in flour after it’s cut to avoid it sticking to itself. Set aside.

In a large saucepan on medium heat melt the stick of butter. Add crushed garlic and cook until it starts to brown.

Add chopped onion and cook until they start to turn translucent or as Spurlock says, "glassy." Turn the heat down to medium low and add the San Marzano tomatoes. Keep at a steady simmer for 30-45 minutes and stir occasionally while crushing the chunks of tomato with a wooden spoon. Keep cooking until the butter is fully incorporated with the sauce.

Add salt and red pepper flakes to taste, turn off the heat.

In a separate pot get 2 quarts of water to a rolling boil and add a generous amount of salt. Boil pasta for 4-6 minutes then strain.

Pour tomato sauce on top of cooked pasta, add freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.

To chiffonade -- or thinly slice in long strips -- stack basil leaves on top of each other and roll them into a tight cylinder. Cut perpendicular to the cylinder to create thin long strips of basil.

Garnish pasta with basil strips and enjoy!

Spurlock's Kitchen Tips

PHOTO: Mike Spurlock, aka Spurweezy Eats, showed "GMA" how to chiffonade basil for pasta.
Mike Spurlock, aka Spurweezy Eats, showed "GMA" how to chiffonade basil for pasta.

Tip #1: The key to homemade pasta

That’s right, making your own noodles is not that hard. It’s really important to finish them correctly so you don’t get a clump of noodles stuck together. As soon as you finish cutting your dough into noodles you want to give them a nice dusting of flour to keep them from sticking together.

Tip #2: Prep zucchini noodles for success

A lot of people have a hard time with zucchini noodles because they turn pasta sauce into a watery mess, so it’s really important that before you cook with them, you lay them out and lightly salt them, let them sit for 10 minutes and dab them with a paper towel. That will pull out all the extra moisture that would otherwise wreak havoc on your final dish.

Tip #3: The finishing touch: Basil

Chiffonade fresh basil leaves by stacking them on top of each other and roll them into a tight cylinder. Cut perpendicular to the cylinder to create thin long strips of basil.