Life of Megan

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Penne arrabbiata

I like making my own pasta sauce, as long as I can either plan ahead and make it on the weekend (a la my Nana Jean) or I can make it in less than an hour (which works anytime because Judson is typically patient if he thinks dinner will be tasty in the end). So when I noticed a recipe for arrabbiata sauce in the current issue of Runner's World that only required a few ingredients and cooked up in about 45 minutes, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I've cooked it twice now, and I think it may become my standard sauce (this sauce is so cheap and so easy--and more importantly, so good--that it really makes no sense to buy sauce after trying it out). So I thought I'd be nice and pass along the recipe. It should serve 2-3 people.

Ingredients
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • One small onion, chopped
  • 4 oz. pancetta (or thick-cut bacon, if pancetta is unavailable), chopped
  • One garlic clove, minced
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
  • One (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
  • A pinch of sugar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 12 oz. uncooked pasta (penne and fusilli work well)
  • Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions
  • Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
  • Add garlic, onion, and pancetta and cook (stirring frequently) until onion is translucent, about five minutes
  • Add crushed red pepper and cook until pancetta begins to brown
  • Add tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper; stir well; bring mixture to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer, partially covered, for approximately 30 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Stir occasionally. Cook pasta while sauce is simmering.
  • After draining pasta, mix in half the sauce. Plate the pasta, cover with remaining sauce, and top with grated cheese. Enjoy!
I like to use my cast-iron skillet for this recipe because I find it particularly excels when sauce reduction is involved in a recipe. The only issue here is that whenever you use cast iron with an acidic food (like tomatoes), you have to be more careful about seasoning the pan.

If you make this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Bon appetit!

posted by megan at 2:25 PM

5 Comments:

  • Wow, I am so looking forward to curling up with pasta and a good book! Arrabbiata is my favorite sauce, and I've been eager to learn how to make my own.

    Dumb question though - how does one use real ingredients in place of the crushed red pepper flakes and canned tomatoes? (Ok, the tomatoes I think I can figure out, but the red pepper?)

    PS - Colgate 360 = AWESOME.

    By Blogger RebeccaP, at 11:58 AM  

  • Crushed red pepper is a real ingredient. It's just cut up bits of a dried pepper. I guess you could buy dried peppers, like anchos, and cut them into tiny bits if you wanted.

    I would not replace the canned tomatoes with fresh ones. First, canned tomatoes are actually better for you than canned ones. Second, I'm not really sure how the juice ratios would work out.

    By Blogger megan, at 2:20 PM  

  • Thanks for the red pepper tip - I wasn't trying to be insulting in my use of the word "real," it's just that I've never seen a jar of crushed red pepper in the spice aisle here.

    I'm thrilled that canned tomatoes are better for you, but how???

    By Blogger RebeccaP, at 5:20 PM  

  • I can't remember the exact details, but most of what makes canned tomatoes better for you is that they're all picked at the peak of the season, when they are perfectly ripe. Because the tomato season is relatively short, and because most tomatoes we buy in America are those sort of big, flavorless things, canned tomatoes win in terms of nutrition. However they're canned doesn't drastically decrease nutritional content the way canning green beans does. So if you have a great supplier, fresh tomatoes would probably win, but then, I still would be hestitant to substitute (vs. finding a different recipe).

    Just to be on the safe side, this is what I meant by "crushed red pepper." If you are having trouble finding it in France, it may just be that the French don't really like hot food. I'd try the Moroccan/Thai/specialty aisle. That's where I always found peanut butter. Anyhow, if you can't find them, you should be able to find some sort of dried pepper. Cut them up or tear them up, be really careful about your eyes, cuts, and your nose (I like peppers--I learn things the hard way--washing once is NOT enough), and taste the stuff before you add much. =) My brief Googling leads me to believe crushed red pepper is a blend, but generally contains large amounts of Ancho (dried poblano) peppers.

    Heck, I could always send you a bottle.

    And I'm glad you like the toothbrush. I'm just hoping Colgate sends me some coupons. I've sold four or five of them now (that I know of).

    By Blogger megan, at 12:07 PM  

  • You should have all the ingredients in this recipe readily available. It sounds tasty, but that's a LOT of pancetta!

    By Blogger megan, at 5:34 PM  

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