How to make Real Penne Al'Arrabiata

Penne Al'Arrabiata means "Angry" penne because the tomato sauce is spicy hot. Traditionally, it is prepared with penne rigate pasta because the ridges in the pasta hold the sauce, and the tube form of the pasta will squirt the sauce out in a really satisfying way as you eat it! The pasta is prepared "al'dente", or mildly firm, so you can enjoy nice texture. The sauce is tomato, flavored with garlic, salt, hot peppers called pepperoncini, and Italian flat leaf Parsley. Olive oil is added at the end so everything is nice and oily.

When you put it all together, the pasta should be al'dente and lightly dressed with the hot tomato sauce, but generously dressed with olive oil. It should be salty, garlicky, tomato-y, oily, spicy, and have that wonderful herbal freshness added by the parsley to lighten everything up!

One box of penne rigate pasta (this is widely available, Barilla and De Cecco make it; Make sure it is "rigate" or has lines in the pasta)

Olive Oil

Garlic

One can of whole peeled tomatoes (Italian tomatoes are really good, but any will do as long as they are whole and peeled, not crushed)

Pepperoncini (the ones from Calabria are best, you could substitute Hot Red Pepper Flakes. By pepperoncini I mean the tiny red dried Italian peppers, not the fat little yellow green ones. Calabria produces the best, and they have a very distinct flavor and are very hot. You may be able to find them in specialty stores like Whole Foods or an Italian market. They are cheap, and a small bag of them will last you forever because you only need a few tiny peppers to add spice to anything.)

Flat Leaf Italian Parsely

Salt

Big Dutch Oven or some big deep pan to mix the sauce and pasta together in

Put water on the boil to cook the pasta in. In the meantime, prepare the sauce!

Finely chop about three cloves of garlic. Heat about two or three table spoons of olive oil in the pan or Dutch Oven and add the garlic. Sautee about a minute while stirring but do not let the garlic brown. Add two or three crushed pepperoncini or some hot red pepper flakes.

Add the whole peeled tomatoes by crushing them one by one in your hand over the pan. If you don't want your hands on the tomatoes, then crush them ahead of time in a bowl with a masher but don't puree them. They need to break down but be a little chunky for texture. Be sure to add the juice from the can of tomatoes and maybe even a little water. You should fill the tomato can about half full and pour it into the pan to get all the tomato flavor. Stir the tomatoes, garlic, and pepperoncini together and salt to taste (but this should be good and salty).

Let it cook over medium heat for a while (15 to 20 minutes) stirring often with a flat edged wooden spoon. Continue to break down the tomatoes in the pan by chopping them with the edge of the spoon. The sauce should end up like a pulp but not like tomato paste. Add some chopped parsley and turn off the heat for now.

Cook the pasta maybe a minute or two before the recommended time and drain. Do not rinse the pasta with water. Add the pasta to the sauce and turn the heat on low, stirring to coat all the pasta. Next add some olive oil to make it good and oily. When all the ingredients have been combined for a minute or so over heat, turn off the heat and serve.