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Arrabbiata sauce served with pasta
Piquant Italian arrabbiata sauce with tomato and chilli

Authentic arrabbiata sauce

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Main Courses Sauces and Gravies
The meaning of 'all'arrabbiata': angry. This Roman classic got its name from the fire of the chilli (peperoncino), which gives the simple tomato sauce a 'bite'. The secret lies in aromatising the oil: garlic and chilli must be slowly 'prayed' into the oil so flavours permeate the base before the tomatoes go in. Brilliant not just for pasta, but on pizza too.
🕒 Prep Time 10 mins
🍳 Cook Time 25 mins
⌛ Total Time 35 mins
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 130 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Wide frying pan (for faster evaporation of tomato juice)
  • Wooden spoon
  • Knife

Instructions

1 ✓

Slice the garlic thinly (don't crush!), slice the chilli into rings.

Tip: Sliced garlic burns less easily and gives a mellower flavour than if crushed.
2 ✓

Pour the oil into a cold pan, add the garlic and chilli, then turn on to medium heat.

Tip: Starting with cold oil allows flavours to leach out as the oil warms, without sudden burning of the garlic.
3 ✓

When the garlic just starts to turn golden (approx. 2-3 minutes), immediately pour in the tomatoes.

Tip: This is the critical point. If garlic turns dark brown, it makes the whole sauce bitter. The moisture of tomatoes stops the frying.
4 ✓

Season with salt, bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes until oil starts to separate on top of the sauce.

Tip: Oil separation indicates excess water has evaporated from tomatoes and the sauce has concentrated.
5 ✓

Chop the parsley and stir into the sauce at the very end of cooking.

Tip: Fresh herbs shouldn't be cooked long as they lose colour and fresh taste.
6 ✓

Mix with cooked pasta (e.g. penne) in the pan and serve.

Tip: Add a ladle of starchy pasta water to help the sauce cling better to the pasta.

Recipe FAQ

It turned out too spicy, is it edible?
Capsaicin (the spicy substance) dissolves in fat. Adding a little cream or butter can dampen its strength, although not traditional. Or cook more pasta!
Tinned or fresh tomatoes?
In season ripe fresh tomatoes are best, but in winter a good quality (San Marzano) tinned chopped tomato is much tastier than pale supermarket tomatoes.

Ingredients

  • 30 ml Extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 1 whole Fresh chilli pepper (or 1 tsp chilli flakes)
  • 400 g Tinned chopped tomatoes (or peeled)
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 10 g Fresh parsley