Penne Arrabbiata

How can a pasta sauce be angry…as the name arrabbiata suggests? Well, get too aggressive when adding the chili peppers and you shall discover how quickly this sauce angrily bites back with dragon-like fire.

But really…the amount of anger is easily controlled by the type and quantity of chili pepper used. It’s a bit like going to anger management therapy to control outbursts of rage. Do that part effectively, and the sauce becomes a garlicky tomato sauce with an attitude…an attitude you get to control.

This sauce can be made with fresh or canned tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes should have a meaty interior – something like San Marzano, Roma, or Beefsteak – to control the amount of liquid in the sauce. Simply chop fresh tomatoes or pulse them briefly in a food processor before cooking them with the other ingredients. Canned tomatoes should be peeled and whole. Break them up into smaller pieces by squeezing them with your hand, or as with fresh tomatoes, pulse them briefly in a food processor. Of course, if you have some homemade tomato sauce on hand, then use it instead…and you may not even need to add any additional garlic…but please give this sauce some attitude and add as many chili peppers as you can handle.

Difficulty: simple
Yield: makes about 4-6 servings