Potentially one of my most favourite pasta dishes is pasta arrabbiata. It's so ridiculously flavourful and spicy, and easy to whip up (which is the mark of any great recipe). I've put my own spin on it a little, adding other flavours in there that I feel add depth to the sauce. Whilst it means it's not 100% authentic, adding a little kick of creativity to dishes is what cooking is all about.
The below recipe will feed around 4-5 people.
Ingredients
1 large red onion
4 cloves garlic
2 sprigs fresh basil (+ extra for serving)
60gr fresh chillies (should amount to 2-3 whole chillies)
2 small tomatoes
2tbsp pitted olives
1tbsp capers
1 large aubergine
500gr passata
1tsp red chilli flakes
1tsp dried oregano
1tsp dried basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
320gr pasta of choice (I used mafaldine, and would avoid spaghetti. A bulky pasta shape, such as penne, farfalle or even conchiglie would suit the texture of this sauce better. Portion around 80gr of pasta per person.)
Method
1. Chop the onion finely and crush or mince the garlic; set aside. Chop the basil and chillies finely. If you're not keen on the dish being very spicy, eliminate the seeds from one of the chillies.
2. Cut the tomato into fine cubes and chop the olives and capers finely. They olives and capers shouldn't be too evident in the sauce, visually, so they should look as though they've been minced. Cut the aubergine into cubes, around 1cm large.
3. In a medium pot drizzle some olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until translucent before adding the garlic, fresh basil, olives, chopped fresh tomatoes, capers and chillies. Cook for around 1-3 minutes, or until fragrant. Add in the aubergine and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour in the passata and add in the chilli flakes, dried oregano and dried basil. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the sauce to come to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and allow to reduce.
5. Bring a pot of water to the boil, seasoning heavily with salt until it tastes like a well seasoned soup. Pour in the pasta and cook according to packet instructions. When about cooked through, take a small ladle of the pasta water and stir it into the sauce. Drain the pasta and mix into the sauce.
6. Serve piping hot topped with fresh basil and parmigiano reggiano.
Recreating this recipe? Tag me on instagram @juliawgr!
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