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–+ servings

Spaghetti all'Assassina

While I like getting the sauce caramelized and quite brown in spots, I don’t like actually burning the dish as it imparts a bitter flavor that is overwhelming. Chewy bits of pasta are good, too, but not really crunchy and hard. I use both tomato puree (passata) and tomato paste to create a balanced tomato flavor. This is not a dish that calls for super-premium bronze die extruded pasta. However, a pasta that is slow-dried, such as de Cecco, works well. The traditional pan for making spaghetti all’assassina is cast iron or carbon steel but I prefer to use a heavy non-stick pan large enough to hold the spaghetti flat on the bottom.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 700 g passata (tomato puree) divided (one standard bottle of Italian passata is 700 g)
  • 900 g water
  • 60 g tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 100 ml extra virgin olive oil plus more for finishing
  • 4 cloves garlic 2 minced and 2 whole
  • 1 to 2 dried hot peppers or to taste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 500 g dried spaghetti
  • 35 g grated Pecorino cheese plus more for serving

Method
 

  1. Remove 150 g of passata from the bottle and reserve.
  2. Combine the remaining passata with the water, tomato paste and salt to make a tomato “broth”. Bring to a simmer on low heat. Use some of the water to rinse out the jar to remove all the passata.
  3. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, preferably one that is large enough in diameter to hold the spaghetti flat. Add the minced and whole garlic and sauté until fragrant.
  4. Add hot pepper, sauté briefly.
  5. Add the reserved passata and sugar.
  6. Cook until much of the liquid has evaporated and the passata has darkened somewhat.
  7. Add the spaghetti, fanning it out. Add a ladle or two of the broth and cook on brisk heat until almost completely absorbed, frequently pushing the spaghetti around to keep it from sticking together.
  8. Proceed in this way, adding broth a bit at a time and occasionally turning the spaghetti over, until it is al dente. During this time, you should begin to notice the fragrance change toward more caramel notes.
  9. During the last few minutes, allow the pasta to sizzle enough to create some very dark spots. Note, if there is not enough broth, bring some water to a simmer and finish cooking the pasta with that.
  10. Off heat, add Pecorino and more liquid if necessary to create a bit of sauce.
  11. Drizzle each serving with some additional extra-virgin olive oil and pass more grated Pecorino at the table.

Notes

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