Spaghetti all’Assassina Recipe
How to make Spaghetti all’Assassina
Method
- Mix passata with 250ml water and set aside.
- Place a large, heavy-based frying pan (ideally as long as the spaghetti) over a medium heat. Add the the olive oil, garlic and chilli and stir until fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste and stir through, allowing it to colour the oil. Add the spaghetti in one direction and use tongs to gently turn it through the fragrant oil.
- Add a ladleful of the passata and water mixture, gently moving the pasta around until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the remaining liquid, one ladle at a time, until absorbed. Gently turn over areas of pasta if they lightly char.
- Once the pasta becomes tender (around 12 minutes) keep cooking without moving it too much. Continue cooking until you develop charred sections on the base, this takes at least 5 minutes. When these appear, gently use a spatula to turn that section over. The idea is to get lots of charred spots all over.
- When sufficently charred, season very well with salt and pepper. Add grated parmesan now, if using. Serve with a sprinkling of extra chilli flakes if you like it hot.
Tip: Don’t let the browning of the pasta scare you – it’s supposed to be charred!
Optional: You can use more or less chilli, depending on your heat tolerance.