On a recent episode of Milk Street, good ol’ Chris Kimball made spaghetti “cooked in the style of risotto…”
I have seen any number of grains other than rice cooked in the style of risotto, but spaghetti was a first – a very intriguing first. I decided we needed it for dinner. And I also decided that Victor needed to make it.
I had a couple of reasons – first, he’s our resident Italian. But second – and even more importantly – I knew he would follow the recipe, where I might wander off or question something. I said I’d make rolls – and if you read the blog post, you’ll understand the “wander off” comment…
I totally got the science behind it – a thin tomato sauce slowly added to a dry pasta so the pasta absorbs the tomato flavor instead of absorbing water and then getting topped with tomato. Back when I was a kid, my mom would make a pot of thin meat sauce and cook the spaghetti in the sauce – it was her way of stretching a bit of ground beef and a can of tomato sauce to feed six kids. I just never thought of it as something someone other than a fireman’s wife with six kids would do.
Wrong, again.
Spaghetti All’Assassina
- 1 14.5-ounce can tomato puree (1½ cups)
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 tsp oregano
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- Optional garnish: Finely grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
In a medium bowl or 1-quart liquid measuring cup, combine the tomato puree, boiling water, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Whisk until the tomato paste dissolves.
In a heavy-bottomed 12-inch nonstick skillet, combine the oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Set over medium-high and cook, stirring, until the garlic no longer smells raw, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup of the tomato mixture.
Place the spaghetti in the center of the pan with the noodles parallel to each other, distributing them in an even layer. Using a spatula, press down on the noodles. Cook without stirring and occasionally pressing down until the tomato mixture at the edges is reduced and deeply browned and the pasta is sizzling, about 5 minutes.
Slide a spatula under half of the spaghetti and flip the noodles, then do the same with the second half; the bottom of the noodles should be spottily charred. Once again, distribute the pasta as best you can in an even layer. Ladle on 1 cup of the tomato mixture, pouring it over and around the pasta. Cook without stirring but pressing down, until the liquid is reduced and once again browned at the edges of the pan and the pasta is sizzling, 3 to 4 minutes.
Flip the pasta in the same way and ladle on another 1 cup tomato mixture. Cook in this way until the pasta is al dente but crusty and spottily charred; this will require another 2 or 3 additions of tomato broth; you may not use all the broth.
Finish with a flip of the pasta (not with an addition of broth). Off heat, taste and season with salt and black pepper.
It was excellent! Totally excellent!
I think one of the bigger surprises was that neither of us usually like al dente pasta – we want it cooked – not mushy, but not chewy. This was chewy – but in all the right ways. It wasn’t your basic red sauce spaghetti – it was its own dish with its own identity.
And speaking of dishes and Identities…
We bought the dishware in Florence back in 2021 at Machiavelli Galleria. It’s now Ceramiche Firenze – but the artist – Massamiliiano Passeri – who painted our plates is still with them. We bought a complete service for 4 – dinner plates, salad plates, dessert plates, pasta plates, soup bowls, oval platter, pasta bowl, It took about three months for the dishware to be made, painted, and shipped. They are worth every penny!
Another fun story… A year or so after getting home, Victor was on their website and said “They have coffee mugs – and they’re only $50 each!” as I was drinking coffee from my $2.50 Trader Joe mug… I laughed and said “Did you hear what just came out of your mouth?”
Of course we bought them.
And we use them. The entire set.
