Penne Arrabiata
While everyone else in the food blog world is probably posting about the latest heirloom finds at the farmer’s market or what’s been growing in their gardens, it is too hot to venture far from the house and the squirrels have been helping themselves to all of my hard work. So in the interest of simplicity and minimal house heating, I’m on a pasta kick.
This is definitely a classic dish that anyone who thinks a good meal should make you sweat should know how to cook. You can alter the quantity of chili as desired, but with too little chili you’ll have marinara, not arrabiata. It must be spicy, it must taste angry, to be arriabiata!
Contrary to popular belief, it does not take hours to make a good tomato sauce like it does a ragu. Total time from water boiling to food in mouth should be less than 15 minutes with most classic pasta dishes and this is no exception, making it perfect for these ridiculously hot summer days.
- 8 ounces (225g) penne rigate
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1-2 red chili, seeded and minced
- 225g pureed tomatoes
- (optional) basil chiffonade or chopped parsley, for garnish
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. (Be careful checking penne as the tube can hold boiling water and scorch your tongue!)
- In the meantime, heat the extra virgin olive oil, garlic and chili in a large skillet over medium heat. Sweat until the garlic is fragrant and the chili has softened (reducing the heat to avoid the garlic browning), then add the pureed tomatoes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the pasta is finished.
- Add up to a half cup of the pasta water to the sauce if it is on the dry side, then drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Stir to coat and cook for an additional minute before plating and garnishing with basil and/or parsley. I also like to add more dried red chili flakes.