Penne all'Arrabbiata
'Angry' tomato sauce, as hot as you dare
- Serves
- 4
- Hands-on
- Total
- Level
- Easy
Arrabbiata is a simple tomato sauce with real chili heat and plenty of garlic. Blooming the chili in oil first spreads its warmth evenly through the sauce, and penne's ridges catch every bit of it.
Ingredients
- 400 gpenne rigate (14 oz)
- 4 tbspextra-virgin olive oil
- 4 clovesgarlicthinly sliced
- 1 tspdried chili flakesor 2 dried whole chilies, crumbled; adjust to taste
- 1 canwhole peeled tomatoes (28 oz)800 g, crushed by hand
- 5 gfine sea salt (¾ tsp)for the sauce, plus 40 g (2 tbsp) for the pasta water
- 15 gflat-leaf parsley (½ cup)chopped
- Pecorino Romanograted, to serve (optional); or a vegetarian hard cheese (traditional Pecorino uses animal rennet)
- Diet
- Vegetarian
- Allergens
- gluten, milk
- Origin
- Italy (Lazio)
Method
- Bring 4 L (4 qt) water to a boil with 40 g (2 tbsp) salt.
- Warm the oil, garlic and chili in a wide pan over medium-low heat until the garlic is pale gold and the oil turns faintly red, 3–4 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and the sauce salt. Simmer briskly until thick and glossy, 15 minutes.
- Cook the penne until 1 minute short of the packet time.
- Lift the pasta into the sauce with a splash of pasta water and toss over high heat for 1 minute. Stir in the parsley and serve, with Pecorino if you like.
Why it works
Capsaicin, the heat in chili, dissolves far more readily in fat than in water. Warming the flakes in oil before the tomatoes go in spreads the heat evenly instead of leaving hot pockets.
Common mistakes
- Burning the chili: it turns bitter. Keep the heat low and watch the oil color.
Variations
- Shortcut
- Warm 600 ml Tomato Sauce with the chili oil instead of cooking down canned tomatoes.
Make ahead and storage
The sauce keeps 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen.
Notes
Without the cheese the dish is vegan.
