Pasta all'Arrabbiata
The last Winter supper: a simple pasta all'arrabbiata and the pantry ingredients to make an excellent last minute dinner.
Welcome to the last Notes from my Winter Kitchen you are warmly invited to join me as I cook through the seasons.
Could we just pretend for a moment that it isn’t already March and give one last nod to the Winter Kitchen Notes we have been working through together. Last week I regrettably never made it to Substack as my son picked up a horrible bug most likely at school which I promptly incubated. Something needed to give and unfortunately it was posting this recipe whilst I coughed my way through the worst of it. But, better late than never.
Generally speaking when I am under the weather I crave two recipes: either a chicken broth with noodles, or a simple homely dish of tomato pasta. We eat quite a lot pasta with two small children at home this is to be expected but for some reason I haven’t shared enough pasta recipes here. Perhaps they don’t feel special enough. I’m hoping to make more time for pasta here starting this week with a simple pasta all’arrabbiata: essentially a master recipe for a homemade spicy tomato sauce which can become the base of any number of beautiful tomato pasta sauces. I make this in many iterations by adding handfuls of other ingredients such as olives, or capers, or chopped anchovies, or sardines, or even sausages broken out of their skins and browned with the onion mix at the beginning.
Returning to the master recipe itself, it requires a few kitchen cupboard ingredients making it incredibly useful to have saved for when a school bug hits. I used casarecce pasta as it was what I had to hand. A traditional pasta shape from Sicily: short, narrow with twisted tubes and rolled edges which hold the tomato sauce beautifully. Penne all’arrabbiata is a classic choice; equally good would be rigatoni, fusilli or rotini.
Recipe of the Week
Pasta all’arrabbiata
Traditionally made with penne this is a classic Roman pasta dish which is both simple and perfect. The sauce is made with plenty of garlic, tomatoes and dried red chilli flakes cooked in olive oil. Pasta all’arrabbiata literally translates (rather delightfully) as "angry pasta” as the chilli flakes give the dish a kick. It is a wonderful supper as we transition from Winter to Spring as it brings comfort and yet hints at warmer months ahead.
Serves 4
olive oil
4 banana shallots, peeled and finely diced
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1-2 teaspoons dried smoked chilli flakes
2 heaped tablespoons tomato paste
2 tins (400g) whole plum tomatoes
2 sugar cubes
sea salt and black pepper
handful of fresh basil
300g dried pasta of your choice (penne, rigatoni, fusilli, rotini, or casarecce)
to serve
fresh basil
1 burrata (optional)
Parmesan (optional)
good quality extra virgin olive oil
Take a shallow pan to make the sauce and add a few generous glugs of olive oil, add the finely diced shallot and chopped garlic. Gently sauté until translucent. After 2-3 minutes add the dried chilli flakes. The oil should be infused with the shallot, garlic and dried chilli. Next add the tomato paste and cook this out until you have a fragrant tomato base for your sauce.
Next take the tins of plum tomatoes and empty into a bowl, using your hand crush the tomatoes, to create a chopped tomato mix but with the unevenness that doing this by hand creates. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pan. For each tin of tomatoes add 1 sugar cube (to round out the acidity of the tomatoes). Season with sea salt and black pepper scatter with most of the basil leaves (reserving some to garnish the dish) and simmer gently for 15 minutes. You want the sauce to reduce and thicken. Test it by pulling a spatula through it there shouldn’t be excess liquid in the pan. Taste and check seasoning adjust with sugar, salt, pepper, or chilli flakes as needed.
Whilst the sauce is cooking bring a large pan of water to the boil for the pasta. Salt the water generously and add the pasta. Cook according to the packet instructions until al dente. Using a mug reserve a little of the pasta water and set aside, this will help finish the dish. Drain the pasta and return it to the reduced sauce, place over a gentle heat. Stir continuously 1-2 minutes gradually adding splashes of the pasta water to help the sauce and pasta melt together. Once ready ladle the pasta into bowl plates scatter with the remaining fresh basil.
Adorn each bowl with a large spoon of burrata. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately. I place the Parmesan and a fine grater on the table for everyone to help themselves.
Pantry List
Nothing has been more helpful this week (mid-virus) than well stocked kitchen cupboards to draw from for easy meals. As we transition from Winter to Spring it is time for a Spring clean in the kitchen: a clear out of the cupboards and drawers, a chance to take inventory of spices, oils, vinegars, jars and packets.
There are wonderful foundations here for many good meals, my cooking would certainly be less without it. My updated ultimate Pantry List of ingredients:
Fats - good quality olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, coconut milk (full fat and reduced fat), mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce
Vinegars - apple cider, white wine, red wine, balsamic, rice wine
Salt and Pepper - sea salt, smoked salt, chilli salt, peppercorns
Flour - plain, self raising, chickpea, spelt, wholemeal, almond e.g. ground almonds
Oats - porridge oats, rolled
Rice - jasmine, long grain, basmati, wild rice, arborio or carnaroli (for risotto), pudding rice
Pasta - penne, rigatoni, spaghetti, fusilli, farfalle, mini shapes for soups
Noodles and Wrappers - egg, rice noodles, soba, udon, rice paper wrappers
Tomatoes - chopped tomatoes, plum tomatoes, passata, tomato puree, tomato ketchup
Beans - butter beans, black beans, chickpeas, haricot, pinto, borlotti, kidney, cannellini, baked beans
Lentils - red split lentils, puy lentils, green lentils
Fish - anchovies, tuna, sardines (all for me as my family won’t eat them!)
Vegetables - artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, sweetcorn, sun-dried tomatoes, hearts of palm (wonderful for salads and they remind me of my maternal grandmother), olives, tinned capers, pickled garlic
Flavourings - low salt stock cubes (vegetable, chicken, beef), tahini, miso, soy sauce, tamari, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, smooth mustard, grain mustard, anchovy paste, marmite
Heat - dried chillies, chilli flakes, chilli jam, tabasco, hot sauce, chilli oil
Nuts and seeds - almonds, flaked almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanut butter, almond butter, sesame seeds
Sweet - jams, chutney, dried fruits, vanilla syrup, cocoa powder, light brown sugar, golden caster sugar, muscovado sugar, dark chocolate spread, chocolate chips, cooking chocolate
About Notes from my Kitchen
I am writing to you from my London kitchen and sharing the food and tastes of my English childhood. The food I cook is nostalgic, home cooked and seasonal. In my cooking I take much inspiration from my late mother’s cooking, her Kentish kitchen and her beloved garden, which is a truly special place. She built and designed the garden from an existing footprint on the grounds of our family home. I hope to share it with you through the seasons, especially the kitchen garden. Discovering her recipes and reimagining her food brings me happiness and a sense of belonging.
