Nigella Lawson's Spaghetti Recipe Uses An Unexpected Ingredient

Countless column inches have been devoted to either raving about or taking down Marmite — that most divisive ingredient, as well as its Australian cousin Vegemite which, per The Spruce, is like Marmite but with add-ins like salt, onion, and celery extract, coloring, and a few other additives. 

We could tell you that Marmite is, per Martha Stewart, made with brewer's yeast and is rich in vitamin B. We could also tell you that it is so controversial it has a #LoveItHateIt hashtag, and it probably just escaped being turned into an exhibit for the Disgusting Food Museum in Sweden — that honor having gone to Vegemite instead, per BBC. 

We are in no doubt that Nigella Lawson was fully aware of Marmite's divisive nature when she tweeted a recipe for pasta with Marmite — because even as she said: "#RecipeOfTheDay is Spaghetti with Marmite! Use more butter, Marmite and cheese as wished, of course. And, obviously, you can use Vegemite, too. I actually am in possession of a jar of the Truffle Marmite, which I can now tell you is rather fab here!" there was also a follow up. "And Italians, before you shudder, I must tell you that Spaghetti with Marmite came to me via the [meravigliosa] food writer Anna del Conte!," Lawson tweeted. 

The recipe is straightforward and needs just a few ingredients: spaghetti, Marmite/Vegemite, unsalted butter, as well as freshly grated parmesan cheese. Of this dish, Lawson says: "... I have eaten shortcut versions of this in Italy (recreated guiltlessly in my own kitchen) which use a crumbled stock cube, along with some butter, olive oil, chopped rosemary and a little of the pasta cooking water to make a flavoursome sauce for spaghetti. If you think about it, Marmite offers saltiness and savouriness the way a stock cube might," per Nigella.com.

Even with that attempt to present a convincing comparison, social media remained divided over the use of Marmite as a way to spruce up an ingredient as well loved as spaghetti. One Lawson fan tweeted: "I made this so, so often when my kids were little. Brilliant dish" while another said: "This is one of my favourite things! The perfect 'emergency' lunch or post-run dinner. I love it!"

But one user shared her experience of enjoying this dish amid a sea of Marmite haters, saying: "I used to do this at uni and became a social outcast because my housemates were so disgusted," while this user was unafraid to tell it like it was: "You either love it or you hate it. Sorry but I hate it."