Spaghetti all' Assassina

 

I came across this dish of burnt spaghetti cooked like a risotto whilst browsing on-line. It sounded interesting and a must-try. 

Although I'm still not too sure if it is really a traditional dish from Bari or just a joke being played by Italians on us outsiders who are looking for new pasta dishes!

It turned out absolutely delicious!  

Ingredients

300g spaghetti
400g tomato passata
2 tbsp tomato puree 
100ml extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, 2 finely chopped, 1 left whole
1 red chilli, finely chopped 
1 tsp sugar 
salt 
pepper 

Method

Pour in the passata into a saucepan and stir the tomato puree. Remove about a third of it and set aside.  Then add an equal amount of water to the remaining passata in the pan to create a broth. Place the saucepan over a low heat to warm it up. Do not boil.

Preferably using a large cast iron pan or a regular frying pan heat the extra virgin olive oil over a medium to high temperature. Add the chillies and garlic.

Fry until the garlic turns golden brown. Remove the whole clove of garlic then add the undiluted passata /puree mix. Stir well, cook for a few minutes. Season well with salt and pepper then spread out the sauce to cover the pan. 

Add the pasta. 

If your pan is large enough you won't have to break the spaghetti but if not, break the spaghetti in half so they are of equal size. Arrange them randomly but try and get as much of the pasta in touch with pan. 

Continue to cook without stirring for several minutes, allowing the pasta to stick and begin to caramelise. Gently check that this process has happened by lifting up the spaghetti with a spatula before starting the next step. Leave it as long as you dare!

Once it has charred nicely flip the pasta over, and allow this side to begin the process of sticking to the pan. Then gently add a splash of the warm tomato broth,  not directly onto the pasta, but more to the side of the pasta as not to disturb the charring.  Allow the broth to be absorbed, like you would making a risotto, before giving it a stir and adding the next  splash. 

You could turn the pasta over with every cycle of adding the broth but you may end up breaking the pasta.

Once all the broth has been added and absorbed continue to cook until the softer spaghetti has become al dente. Other pieces will be crunchy but cooked.

The sauce should be sticky and thick. 

Serve immediately.