Spaghetti All’Assassina
Spaghetti all’assassina sets itself apart with its fiery spice and unique cooking process. This simple spaghetti dish is simmered with a spicy tomato broth and pan fried until it is caramelized and charred. This bold pasta dish is not for the faint of heart, as its name implies it could be the end of you.
What we love about this spaghetti all’assassina
- The caramelized texture of this spaghetti dish is outstanding. As the pasta absorbs the tomato broth during the cooking process, the sugars present in the tomato sauce will caramelize around the edges of the pasta. Plus, since the pasta absorbs the tomato broth while it cooks it packs a whole lot of flavor into the pasta itself.
- This spaghetti recipe may not have a traditional historical background, this dish incorporates all of classic Italian elements like garlic and tomato sauce, so for anyone who enjoy traditional spaghetti but might be looking for a uniquely spicy twist.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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Ingredients you might need to pick up
- Tomato puree – We tend to go for the crushed tomatoes when we are making a tomato sauce, but for this one we wanted to use a smoother tomato sauce so it blends well when mixed with water to make the tomato broth.
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Spaghetti
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this spaghetti all’assassina
Make the tomato broth. In a large saucepan, combine tomato puree, water and salt. The tomato broth is used to simmer the spaghetti, alternatively to boiling the pasta in water. Just like when you boil pasta, make sure to add salt to this step – this allows the pasta to absorb not only the tomato flavor but seasoning as well. Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Sauté the garlic. Make sure to use a pan large enough that your spaghetti can lay completely flat. In a large cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, simmering until the garlic is fragrant – or about 30 seconds.
Simmer the spaghetti. In the cast iron skillet, add about 1 cup of tomato broth and lay spaghetti flat in the broth. Spoon about 1/2 cup more of the tomato broth over the spaghetti and simmer for 3 minutes. As spaghetti cooks, about every 2-3 minutes, ladle another cup of tomato broth over and spread the spaghetti as it becomes more tender.
Turn the spaghetti. About half way through or when the spaghetti begins to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan, flip the spaghetti (trying to keep it together as much as possible to help build up the caramelization). Continue to cook until pasta is tender and sauce has caramelized most of the sauce. Serve with additional crushed red pepper flakes to taste.
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Spaghetti All’Assassina
Spaghetti all’assassina sets itself apart with its fiery spice and unique cooking process. This simple spaghetti dish is simmered with a spicy tomato broth and pan fried until it is caramelized and charred. This bold pasta dish is not for the faint of heart, as its name implies it could be the end of you.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Spaghetti
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 28-ounce can tomato puree
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ – 2 teaspoons coarse salt, for the broth
- 1 pound spaghetti
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, whisk together tomato puree, water and salt to make the tomato broth. Simmer until broth is warmed through and salt has dissolved.
- In a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant.
- Add one cup of tomato broth and spaghetti (laying flat) to the skillet.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, adding another cup of tomato broth and spreading the spaghetti as in becomes more tender. Continue this process of basting and simmering for a total of 12-15 minutes, turning occasionally, until the spaghetti is tender.
- Increase heat to medium-high, allowing spaghetti to sear slightly and sauce has thickened.
- Serve with additional crushed red pepper flakes, to taste.
Notes
** Turning the spaghetti rather than stirring helps keep the spaghetti together, allowing it to caramelized and brown as much as possible. **
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 283
- Sugar: 6.5 g
- Sodium: 524.3 mg
- Fat: 4.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.3 g
- Fiber: 3.9 g
- Protein: 9.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
