Penne All'Arrabbiata (Angry Pasta!)

I first had Penne all’Arrabbiata in the Cinqueterre area on the North-Western coast of Italy. I was on holiday for the very first time with my then-boyfriend/now husband, so the eating of the Penne all’Arrabbiata was very memorable for a number of reasons.

This is a wonderfully simple, but very traditional Italian recipe for Penne all’Arrabbiata. This is one of those dishes that the awesome taste of it belies the short time it takes to prepare it. “Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian, and it’s true that this pasta dish can be VERY “angry”! The sauce is a simple mixture of peperoncini (red, dried chillis), tomatoes and garlic. You can’t go wrong with putting those ingredients together!

Penne all’Arrabbiata actually originated in the Southern part of Italy where the small red chiles called peperoncini grow rampantly and everyone makes sure they wash their hands really, really well. For who knows when you may be relaxing in a field, having a picnic, and put your hand on top of a stray chilli without realizing it. That innocent gesture will really come back to haunt you in a big way if you’re not careful……….

A large pot

A colander

2 wooden spoons

Ingredients (For 4 people)

400 g (14.1 oz) Penne Rigate

3 Tbsp Olive oil

1 whole clove Garlic

1 - 4 Dried Red Chillis (peperoncini) depending on your heat resistance!

400 ml (1 3/4 cups) Tomato puree, or 4 - 5 chopped fresh tomatoes

Salt to taste

Boil the pasta according to the packet instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil on a medium heat with the whole clove of garlic in it. Stir the garlic around until it starts to brown slightly.

Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the crushed or finely chopped chilis and stir for 30 seconds.

The chilis in the photo above came ready-crushed.

Add the tomato puree/ or fresh chopped tomatoes to the oil/garlic mixture, and salt to taste.

Strain the pasta, take the garlic clove out of the sauce, and add the sauce to the pasta.

Eat immediately!