Penne All’Arrabiata

My aunt gave me this book called My Last Supper by Melanie Dunea. It features 50 top chefs and what they would chose for their last meal. It is a fun read and features recipes from each of the meals. Some of quite fancy and some are down to earth.

I am more on the down to earth side. My last meal would most likely be Italian and shared with family and friends. One of the chefs featured is Jamie Oliver and he chooses Spaghetti All’Arrabiata.

This is my favorite dish at Italian restaurants. I love a spicy tomato sauce. It is simple but flavorful. It is also extremely easy to make.

I had a friend coming over and had most of the ingredients on hand so I decided to give it a try. I did not have bread crumbs to make the pangrattato (bread crumb) topping he adds to his so that is left off. Also, I substituted penne for spaghetti.

Here is a little tip for the tomatoes- I take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut up the tomatoes while they are in the can still. It makes a more rustic sauce.

Penne All’ Arriabiata
Inspired by Jamie Oliver
Serves 4

4-5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red chile pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 28 ounce can plum tomatoes, put through sieve
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Cooked penne pasta

Heat the oil in a large saute pan . Add the chile pepper, garlic and onion, and cook gently for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and let them cook until the sauce is quite thick, about 20 minutes.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Cook the penne in the salted boiling water according to directions. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

Once the sauce has thickened, add the red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Add the drained pasta and the reserved pasta water(a little at a time) to the sauce until you get the consistency you look and toss to coat.