This is one of Italy’s tastiest and most popular pasta dishes (and here’s how to make it)
Italians and pasta: they take it deadly seriously. If you don’t make pasta the – according to them – right way, you’ll be met with looks that could kill. But, um… Their spaghetti all’assassina, or ‘assassin’s pasta’, really does make us raise our eyebrows too. Because apparently they actually approve of such an unconventional cooking method over there?!
Don’t get us wrong: we’re not complaining at all. Spaghetti all’assassina is incredibly delicious. It just involves a rather… unusual way of preparing it.
Frying spaghetti al dente in the pan
Spaghetti all’assassina is a pasta recipe that originally comes from Puglia. It’s made by slowly and carefully frying spaghetti al dente in a pan. Are you thinking: isn’t ‘al dente’ a level of doneness you achieve by boiling pasta? Correct, but with spaghetti all’assassina, you really do it by cooking the pasta in a frying pan. You put the raw strands of spaghetti straight into the pan – without boiling water – along with some tomato paste. Then you keep adding a little tomato broth until the pasta becomes increasingly cooked. So, basically, as if you were making risotto.
Crunchy spaghetti
What’s the point of preparing your pasta this way? This method gives the pasta those crispy, browned edges. It reminds me a little of those just-burnt edges of lasagne sheets. Aren’t they fucking fantastic? Well, that’s exactly why spaghetti all’assassina is too. Spaghetti all’assassina is also so delicious because it has an incredibly intense tomato flavour. That comes from the tomato paste and tomato broth, which keep soaking deeper into the pasta. The chilli flakes make the whole dish deliciously spicy. They say that’s where the name ‘assassin’s pasta’ comes from, although the almost-burnt edges of the pasta could also explain the origin of the name.
How to make spaghetti all’assassina
This preparation technique depends on one thing above all: the right pan. A cast-iron pan that can fit the spaghetti completely is your best choice. In it, the spaghetti will brown nicely without burning rock-hard. Here’s how to make spaghetti all’assassina:
1. Make the tomato broth. Heat water, tomato passata and salt in a pan and let it simmer gently.
2. Take a large pan at least 30 cm wide. Sauté the garlic, tomato paste and chilli flakes in a layer of oil. Add a little tomato broth until the bottom is just covered.
3. Place the dry spaghetti in a single layer in the pan. Pour tomato broth over it and let it cook gently, without stirring, until the pasta has absorbed the broth and starts sticking to the pan.
4. Turn the pasta over, add more broth and repeat this process until the spaghetti is al dente, sticking to the bottom and lightly caramelised.
Not to make you nervous, but there is actually a real Accademia dell’assassina that ensures the original recipe for spaghetti all’assassina is preserved and kept alive. Fortunately, the recipe above will set you on the right track.
Also read:
- Recipe for amazing spaghetti with garlic breadcrumbs
- This is the best supermarket pasta brand, according to Italians
- This is why Italians aren’t fat
Recipe: The Kitchn
