Penne Arrabbiata

Penne Arrabbiata

Arrabbiata is the Italian word for 'angry', a name that suits this fiery dish perfectly! Hailing from the central part of Italy, this spicy sauce forms an important part of traditional Roman cuisine. As with a lot of Italian dishes, it's quick and simple but relies greatly on having good quality ingredients. 

Traditional arrabiata sauce is just garlic, crushed dried chilli (chilli flakes), tinned tomatoes, parsley and olive oil. I changed this up a bit as I like the extra sweetness and texture from adding onions. I also added some prosciutto di Parma and bresaola (cured beef) as I had some spare in the fridge. Feel free to add more chilli to make the sauce hotter or remove the seeds from the chilli for a more mellow taste. Arrabbiata sauce traditionally contains no meat so I've left the recipe below vegetarian but you can do as I did and add the cooked/cured meat about five minutes before it's ready. Gino D'Acampo has a great version of this recipe: he cooks some chopped fresh salmon in the sauce - delicious!

Serves 2

5 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
1 medium Onion (finely chopped)
1 Red Chilli (finely chopped)
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley (finely chopped)
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1 tsp Sugar
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
240g Penne Pasta

1. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil over a medium heat and add the onion, garlic and chilli. Season well, stir and allow to cook for 7-10 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the parsley, tin of chopped tomatoes and sugar, stir well and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and check for seasoning.

2 Meanwhile cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 9 minutes until al dente. Drain and add to the sauce. Serve sprinkled with a little parmesan cheese.