Recipes

Jamie Oliver’s Spaghetti All’Arrabiata

Note from the chef:

I was shown how to make this pasta all’arrabiata by a fantastic cook at the Selvapiana wine estate in Tuscany, where I buy my wine.  I’m not saying this is the smartest dish in the world, but it’s my favorite comfort food on a night off at home.  I don’t know why exactly – it probably has something to do with the fact that I think I’m addicted to chili so a big hit of it keeps me happy.  Traditionally it is made with penne, but I think it works really well with spaghetti.

I also love it with pangrattato (bread crumbs), which is a hangover from the old peasant days, when the rich people and parmesan, and the rest couldn’t afford it, so they would fry up stale bread, maybe with a little thyme , or garlic, or chili, to make it really tasty and crispy and then sprinkle it over pasta to give that same feeling of richness that you get from grated parmesan or pecorino.  Over arrabiata.  I think it is a joy.

December 27th, 2011

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NOTE: The photo above is how the dish turned out in the My Last Supper kitchen, and may look different than as envisioned by the original chef.

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 4

  • 7 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 dried red chilies or peperoncino, crumbled or finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 3 14-oz cans good plum tomatoes, sieved, or 3 ½ cups passata
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 18 oz spaghetti
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp stale bread crumbs
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (optional)
  • Fried sage leaves (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

  • Heat about 5 tbsp of the oil in a large sauté pan over low heat.  Add the chilies, garlic, and onion, and cook gently for around 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and let them cook until the sauce is quite thick, about 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.  Cook the spaghetti in the salted boiling water according to the packet instructions.  Drain the pasta, reserving about ¼ cup of the cooking water.
  • Once the sauce has thickened, add the red wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • To make the pangrattato, heat the remaining oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add the bread crumbs and thyme, if desired, and fry until the bread crumbs are crispy, about 3 minutes.
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Mel's comments

Frying the sage leaves was a very delicate task because they are very fragile so be careful.  Be mindful of your audience, as the red chili is strooooong!

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