“Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like that before… And I've been around, too!"
Such were the words of Stanley Tucci, respected actor and all-round gourmand, in a recent episode of his hugely successful Italian food series, ‘Searching for Italy’. Except, rather than an exotic delicacy or some strange seafood from a far-flung land, the dish he was describing was just a simple bowl of pasta, albeit one known as spaghetti all’assassina, or assassin’s spaghetti.
Learn how to make this fiery dish below, or if we've whet your appetite, why not order one of our restaurant-quality takeaways or recipe kits direct to your doorstep.
What is assassin’s spaghetti?
A specialty of the southern Italian region of Puglia, specifically the city of Bari, spaghetti all’assassina is a pasta dish cooked in a rather unconventional manner.
Also known as spaghetti bruciati (burnt spaghetti), the spaghetti in this dish isn’t boiled, but is instead placed – uncooked – into a frying pan containing a mixture of tomato passata, garlic and plenty of chilli. Once crisp, the pasta is cooked ‘risottata’ (risotto-style), with tomato stock added ladle-by-ladle, until the pasta is cooked but well-charred (hence the name ‘burnt spaghetti’).
So, what’s the assassin part all about? Rather than referring to any treachery, the name is said to have been coined by the first person to try the dish, back in the 60s; the unsuspecting customer was so taken aback by the ferocious heat of the dish served to him that he called the chef who had invented it ‘a killer’.
In Bari, assassin’s spaghetti is a truly cult dish. In fact, the Barese are so proud of it that they created an organisation, L’accademia dell’assassina, which is dedicated to protecting and promoting the dish. The academy argues that the dish is best cooked in a cast-iron frying pan to ensure optimum crispness, but we’ve found that a non-stick pan works just as well. Whichever you choose, make sure the pan is big enough to lay the uncooked spaghetti in, without having to break it.
Our assassin’s spaghetti recipe
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Calories per serving: 534 kcal
Ingredients
- 400g spaghetti or spaghettini (dried, not fresh)
- 400g passata
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled (leave one whole, finely chop the others)
- 2 tbsp chilli flakes
- 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
- 100ml olive oil
- Pinch of sugar (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Add 800ml of water to a large saucepan, along with 3⁄4 of the passata and all of the tomato purée, then stir and bring to the boil. Season with salt, then cover and turn the heat down slightly so that it continues to simmer away.
- Put a large sauté pan (big enough to hold your uncooked, unbroken spaghetti strands) over a low heat, then add the olive oil, garlic and both types of chilli. Fry for a minute or two, until the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant.
- Fish out and discard the whole garlic clove, then add the remaining tomato passata, a pinch of sugar (if using) and turn the heat up to high.
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula to ensure the passata is evenly spread across the pan, then let it bubble away for a minute, until it reduces and thickens somewhat.
- Place your uncooked pasta in the pan, spreading it out so that it sits on top of the sauce in an even layer (be careful, the passata may spit a little).
- Leave the pasta to brown for a few minutes, making sure you don’t stir or otherwise disturb the pasta so as not to break the strands.
- After a few minutes, the strands of pasta should have caramelised and browned (don’t worry if they catch a little, that’s all part of the dish). Carefully flip the pasta over using a spatula, so the side that’s browned is facing upwards.
- Let the other side of the pasta brown for 2 minutes, then add a ladle of your tomato stock and turn the heat down to medium, letting the pasta absorb all of the liquid. At this point your spaghetti should start to soften, so you can give it a gentle stir.
- When the pasta begins to sizzle, add another ladle of stock, stirring and flipping the pasta so that it can absorb the liquid. Repeat this process until all of the stock is used up, and the pasta is al dente. The spaghetti should end up lightly coated in sauce and slightly charred, rather than really saucy.
- Transfer to bowls and serve immediately, with a drizzle of good olive oil and another sprinkling of chilli flakes, if you’re so inclined. Buon appetito!
One more thing; if you’ve not encountered ‘Searching for Italy’ yet, we’d urge you to search it out. We’re all about Italian escapism here at Pasta Evangelists – and both series 1 and 2 deliver that in gloriously comforting fashion. You could even settle down to watch an episode or two with a bowl of assassin’s spaghetti!
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