Charred Red Sauce Spaghetti all Assassina

Charred Red Sauce Spaghetti (Spaghetti all’Assassina)

Name: Charred Red Sauce Spaghetti (Spaghetti all’Assassina)
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 to 6 Servings
Ingredients: 1 14½-ounce can tomato puree (1½ cups); 3 cups boiling water; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 1 teaspoon white sugar; Kosher salt and ground black pepper; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 12 ounces spaghetti (see headnote); Optional garnish: Finely grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

By Rose Hattabaugh

4 to 6 Servings

30 minutes

Free

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This is our method for making spaghetti all’assassina—or killer’s spaghetti—a unique dish from Bari, Italy, in which the pasta is cooked start to finish in a skillet. A warm tomato broth is added to the noodles a little at a time, much like the classic technique for risotto. We cook pasta, undisturbed, in an even layer so it chars and crisps, adding texture and flavor. The finished dish is dryish, but pleasantly so, and deliciously intense in flavor, with tasty, crunchy-chewy bits akin to the edges of a baked lasagna. A few things of note: Basic brands of spaghetti, such as Barilla, work best for this, not high-end pastas with a rough, floury appearance, as they tend to release a large amount of starch during cooking. Second, for controlled charring, make sure to use a heavyweight nonstick 12-inch skillet that conducts heat evenly. Lastly, the spaghetti strands must all be parallel when they go into the pan and they remain that way, more or less, throughout cooking.

4 to 6

Servings

Tip

Don’t try to squeeze 1 pound of pasta into the skillet. It’s too much for the amount of sauce and will crowd the pan. Also, don’t stir the pasta as it simmers. Undisturbed cooking with only two flips allows the spaghetti to develop crispness and deep, flavorful charring.

30 minutes

1 14½-ounce can tomato puree (1½ cups)

3 cups boiling water

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon white sugar

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 ounces spaghetti (see headnote)

Optional garnish: Finely grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

Ingredients

1

14½-ounce can tomato puree (1½ cups)
3

cups boiling water
1

tablespoon tomato paste
1

teaspoon white sugar
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
¼

cup extra-virgin olive oil
3

medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
¾

teaspoon red pepper flakes
12

ounces spaghetti (see headnote)
Optional garnish: Finely grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions

01

In a medium bowl or 1-quart liquid measuring cup, combine the tomato puree, boiling water, tomato paste, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Whisk until the tomato paste dissolves.
02

In a heavy-bottomed 12-inch nonstick skillet, combine the oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Set over medium-high and cook, stirring, until the garlic no longer smells raw, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in ¾ cup of the tomato mixture. Place the spaghetti in the center of the pan with the noodles parallel to each other, distributing them in an even layer. Using a spatula, press down on the noodles. Cook without stirring and occasionally pressing down until the tomato mixture at the edges is reduced and deeply browned and the pasta is sizzling, about 5 minutes.
03

Slide a spatula under half of the spaghetti and flip the noodles, then do the same with the second half; the bottom of the noodles should be spottily charred. Once again, distribute the pasta as best you can in an even layer. Ladle on 1 cup of the tomato mixture, pouring it over and around the pasta. Cook without stirring but pressing down, until the liquid is reduced and once again browned at the edges of the pan and the pasta is sizzling, 3 to 4 minutes.
04

Flip the pasta in the same way and ladle on another 1 cup tomato mixture. Cook in this way until the pasta is al dente but crusty and spottily charred; this will require another 2 or 3 additions of tomato broth; you may not use all the broth. Finish with a flip of the pasta (not with an addition of broth). Off heat, taste and season with salt and black pepper.