Penne all' Arrabbiata (Tomato and Chilli Pasta)

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Penne all' Arrabbiata (Tomato and Chilli Pasta)

Category

Dinner

Cuisine

Italian

Servings

Prep Time

2 min

Cook Time

10 min

Did you know that Arrabbiata in Italian means angry? I didn't but now I do. Anyway this 'Angry' Pasta' is in reference to the use of chilli in this recipe to bring up the heat level. Which I really like as I think the heat is balanced with the rich acidic tomato sauce with garlic and the smooth olive oil. It just gives it a little more kick without being too hot.

The oil

The technique for this pasta sauce is an oil infusion. Garlic goes into room-temperature olive oil and the heat is brought up gradually over 3-4 minutes, drawing out the volatile compounds slowly. Adding garlic to already-hot oil browns the surface before the inside has time to cook, and you end up with a bitter, harsh flavour rather than a sweet, mellow one. The chilli flakes go in after the garlic and bloom in the oil for a minute before the tomatoes land.

The sauce

For this recipe, I recommend buying canned whole tomatoes and crushing them by hand to give you irregular pieces with different textures. Some break down completely into the sauce and others hold together, giving you something to work with in each mouthful. The pasta water is the emulsifier: after draining the pasta, toss it through the sauce with a splash of the starchy cooking water and the whole thing comes together into a coating rather than a pool of liquid. Pecorino rather than Parmesan is the traditional finish. It’s saltier and sharper, which suits the bold, spicy sauce.

Ingredient Notes

Canned whole tomatoes:

Quality varies significantly between brands. San Marzano DOP-certified tomatoes are low in acid and naturally sweet, which means the sauce needs less cooking time to mellow and a really nice result. You should be able to find them in most supermarkets or delis.

Dried chilli flakes:

Half a teaspoon gives a gentle, warming background heat most people find comfortable. For more spice, go to 1 teaspoon. Blooming the flakes in the oil before the tomatoes go in softens their heat and distributes it evenly through the sauce. Adding them directly to the tomatoes gives a spottier, less integrated result.

Pecorino Romano:

A hard Italian sheep’s milk cheese with a sharper, saltier, more pungent flavour than Parmigiano-Reggiano. It’s the traditional finish for Arrabbiata. If you can’t find it, Parmigiano-Reggiano works as a substitute, though the flavour will be milder and less assertive.

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Ingredients

500g penne
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
6 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
800g can whole tomatoes
sea salt, to taste
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp basil, torn
pecorino cheese, to serve

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Large pot (for pasta)
Large deep frying pan
Fine grater

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Directions

Place a large pot of salted water on to boil to cook the pasta. Give it a stir every couple of minutes. Cook pasta according to packet directions, until al dente. Start tasting it two minutes before your packet instructions says it's ready.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat.
Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant and just starting to colour. Move your pan around to help infuse the garlic in the oil.
Once it’s starting to get colour, turn the heat down to low and you can break up the garlic in the pan or leave it chunky.
Add the chilli flakes, cook for a further 1 minute.
Crush the tomatoes with your hand in a medium bowl. Turn the heat back up to medium, then add the tomatoes to the pan. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Add a pinch of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes until starting to thicken. If it starts to boil, turn the heat down. Stir every now and then.
Check your pasta sauce for season and add a pinch of salt if needed.
Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water. Add pasta to the sauce and toss to combine, adding a little of the pasta water.
Stir in the basil and most of the parsley.
Serve pasta in a bowl, add extra parsley on top with some grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil.

Notes

Chef Tips

Different variations: There are a few variations of this dish but the most common is just with garlic, chilli, olive oil and tomatoes. This version adds fresh basil and pecorino to bring a little extra freshness and flavour. I also use a lot more garlic in my recipe, so you can tone it down.

Water: For this recipe, I added about 2L of water to a pot to cook the pasta.

Cooking al dente: Al dente means 'to the tooth' which refers to the pasta being tender but with a little resistance when you chew it. If your pasta is mushy or falls apart, you've overcooked it. How I make sure it doesn't over cook is that I start testing it 2 minutes before the packet instructions says to cook it.

Stir your pasta: Give your pasta a stir every now and then. This helps it to cook evenly and stops your pasta from sticking to each other.

Infusing your oil with garlic: When cooking your garlic in the oil, it’s ok to see a little bit of browning but you don’t want it to go brown all over as it will turn bitter. Move the pan around from time to time to help the garlic infuse in the oil.

Garlic: If you don’t like too much garlic, once it’s infused into the oil, you can take the garlic out. But I like garlic, so i break it up a little more once infused and leave it in there.