Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce

Arrabbiata – an Italian pasta sauce that translates to ‘angry’ sauce. It’s a spicy tomato sauce that’s filled with garlic and red chillies.

This is hands down my favourite pasta sauce of all time. In fact it’s safe to say that this is my entire family’s favourite pasta sauce as well. We love spice, and the more garlic in a dish, the better. This hits the spot when it comes to a fiery pasta sauce and we literally can’t get enough. This is probably the pasta sauce I make the most, I even end up using this arrabbiata sauce for my pizzas. It’s great as a crust dipper and amazing with garlic bread.

You know what, forget dunking your mozzarella sticks in marinara or ketchup, dunk them in this arrabbiata sauce – trust me.

What is an arrabbiata sauce?

It’s a sauce that allegedly originated from Rome that’s made from tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and red chillies. Hence the main differences between arrabbiata and marinara is the use of the red chillies.

It can be served with any pasta, though the most common one I tend to see is penne.

My take on an arrabbiata goes slightly off track with a couple of different ingredients and steps, but honestly it’s worth it. This adds even more flavour and depth and my little trick will enhance the spice even further.

There is always a method to the madness over here on DbR – and I assure you I wouldn’t put in an additional step for no reason. But this is worth it.

What you’ll need

• Olive oil- essential so try and use your favourite bottle or one that packs a lot of flavour
• Tomatoes – I use San Marzano tins of tomatoes which I purchase online. They’re sweeter and less acidic and make a huge difference to the arrabbiata sauce. My personal opinion would be to say that San Marzano is essential, however if you can’t get hold of it, use any tin of tomatoes you enjoy and add additional sugar for sweetness
• Fresh red chillies – I prefer fresh over dried, we’ll be roasting these and you can’t do that with dried chilli flakes
• Garlic – and a lot of garlic!
• Banana shallot – milder form of a white onion that adds sweetness when cooked. If you can’t get a hold of this then substitute with 1 small white onion
• Tomato paste – this is a concentrated paste that often comes in a tube. This helps increase the tomato flavour and slightly thicken the sauce
• Sugar – will help to balance the spice
• Salt and black pepper
• Fresh basil – always my choice of herb for tomato pasta sauces, adds sweetness and freshness

Recommended:

A kitchen blow torch – these can be purchased inexpensively online and a really handy gadget to keep on hand for charring or flaming

Process shots

Arrabbiata Sauce

dishbyrish

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Equipment

• Kitchen blowtorch or gas hob

Ingredients

  

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tins San Marzano tomatoes/ good quality tinned plum tomatoes (800g total)
• 2 fresh red chillies
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 banana shallot/1 small white onion halved
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1.5 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• Fresh basil
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

 

• Method:
• Preheat oven to 180’C fan/200’C conventional
• Firstly we want to roast and char the aromatics and there are two ways to do this:
• If using a gas hob, pierce each aromatic on a fork/skewer and hold over the open flame until charred, then toss lightly in oil and roast for 10 mins to soften
• Or my preferred method, toss lightly in 1tbsp oil, roast for 10 mins to soften, then blow torch until charred
• Pulse the charred shallot, garlic, and chillies, along with 1tbsp oil through a food processor until finely minced (I don’t take the charred chilli skin off, but you can if it bothers you!)
• Sauté the minced aromatics in another tbsp of oil for around 1-2 minutes until fragrant
• Add in tomato puree and continue to sauté for a further minute
• Add the tinned tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and half of your basil
• Simmer for 30 mins on medium-low heat, and roughly mash your tomatoes half way into the cooking time
• Finish with the remaining basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Notes

When boiling your pasta, drain it when it’s a minute from being al dente, and add to your sauce along with a good splash of the pasta cooking water and continue to cook. This will allow your sauce to emulsify and prevent your pasta from over cooking.

Keyword arabbiata, arrabbiata, arrabiata, pasta, pasta sauce, spicy, vegetarian