Spaghetti all'assassina

• 5 minutes to prepare • 15 minutes to cook • Serves 4

10 MINUTES 

 

Spaghetti all’assassina literally translates to “murderess spaghetti”!

It is a signature dish from Bari, Puglia. It becomes à la mode during the 70s. This dish is so popular that in Bari even exists a Spaghetti all’assassina Academy, with members that respect religiously the way this pasta is made.

The technique behind is called risottatura, so the pasta is not boiled but is cooked directly in the pan, like a risotto, adding the liquid (in this case the tomato sauce) little by little, until it is absorbed and the pasta is cooked.

The pasta cooks high heat, until it caramelizes and scorches: spaghetti must be crunchy but not burnt!

And they are really spicy to, with a lot of dried chilli. So try the recipe that follows here and become an honorary barese.

Don’t worry, the only thing that will be dying is your hunger pains as you feast on this delicious dish from Puglia!

Here are ingredients for the 4-serving recipe:

 

400 g Spaghetti pasta
1 kg tomato passata
10 basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
EVO oil
dried chilli

salt and pepper

1. In a small pan, add 3 ladlefuls of passata and 3 ladlefuls of water, and bring to a light boil
2. In a casserole dish, add the rest of the passata, a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. Leave to cook until it has thickened
3. In a large skillet or wok, add the spaghetti pasta and toast well. Add a little EVO oil, garlic cloves and chilli
4. When the ingredients begin to fry a little, add 2 generous ladlefuls of the watered-down sauce. The spaghetti will begin to soften slowly, so keep stirring and adding watered-down sauce
5. Remove the garlic cloves, and create a well in the middle of the spaghetti. Pour a few ladlefuls of the dense tomato sauce from the casserole dish into the middle. Gradually stir the spaghetti in from the outside of the well, very carefully. Repeat this process until you’ve added all the sauce and the spaghetti seems cooked
6. Season with salt and leave to cook, without worrying about burning the sauce. The final result will be flavourful, al dente spaghetti, with a scorched flavor and a crunch
7. Serve with fresh leaves of basil on top

Nutrition Facts are listed for this recipe in the table below. Data is provided per serving.