Pasta all'arrabbiata with slow-cooked sugo

Name: Pasta all'arrabbiata with slow-cooked sugo
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ¼ cup olive oil; 4 eschalots (French shallots), peeled and halved lengthways; 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled; 1 tbsp finely chopped oregano leaves; 1 cup passata; 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes; chilli flakes to taste; pinch of brown sugar (optional)

Katrina Meynink

August 29, 2022

Serve this sugo-laden pasta with a heft of excellent cheese.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:4

I've made this recipe with a slow Saturday or Sunday in mind, but you can easily make this midweek magic by cooking the sauce for 20 minutes over a higher heat – it won't reduce as much as the longer method, so you may have some excess sauce, save this for another use.

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
4 eschalots (French shallots), peeled and halved lengthways
4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp finely chopped oregano leaves
1 cup passata
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
chilli flakes to taste
pinch of brown sugar (optional)

To serve

your choice of pasta (60-100g dried pasta per person or 80-120g fresh pasta per serve)
grated parmesan
additional chilli flakes

Method

1. Place a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the oil and once hot, add the garlic and shallots. Cook until you can crush them easily with a wooden spoon, about 15-20 minutes. They shouldn't burn, you want them to take on as little colour as possible. Don't rush this step, this is where a lot of the flavour building happens.
2. Add the oregano and cook until fragrant. Add the passata and chopped tomatoes, turn the heat to low and simmer for 1½ hours, stirring regularly to ensure the sauce isn't catching. It's ready when it has reduced significantly, is lovely and thick and coats the back of a spoon.
3. Add the chilli to taste and season with salt. This sauce works well with a bit of heat and bite, but I like to keep it relatively mild, and then people can add additional chilli to taste. Given some tinned tomatoes can be slightly bitter, I also like to season with a touch of brown sugar. Again, this is personal choice – taste and adjust as you go.
4. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Quickly strain – a bit of residual pasta water is always good. Transfer the wet pasta to the sauce, turning to coat.
5. Place the pasta onto plates. Season with salt and pepper, add a generous sprinkle of grated parmesan and serve with chilli flakes on the side.
More tinned tomato recipes from Katrina Meynink