Penne all'arrabiata

I love Italian food. I love Italians for their ability to create divine dishes from three or four basic ingredients. You have certainly tasted penne all'arrabiata. Arrabbiata is a sauce of garlic, tomatoes, basil and red chili cooked in olive oil. It's also got to be one of the easiest recipes in the world, yes it's simple but flavorful. This penne recipe that I found on kalofagas has been on my try list for quite some time, it caught my eye because of the mozzarella addition. I never had penne arrabiata with mozzarella before, this is why I decided to give it a try. I have to say that I loved it with the mozzarella cheese in it!!!

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 lb (500g) package of penne rigate pasta
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups of canned plum tomatoes (hand-crushed)
1 medium onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. of chili flakes
1 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup of fresh basil, chopped
grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, add your olive oil over medium heat and add your onions, garlic and chilli flakes. Sweat for 2mn. In the meantime, crush the plum tomatoes with your hands and add to the skillet. Simmer uncovered until the sauce becomes thick, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add your penne rigate. Cook according to package’s instructions (about 10 minutes).

Your sauce should be ready by now (nice and thick). Season with salt and pepper and reserve and take off the heat. Cover to keep warm.

When your pasta is cooked, reserve a cup of the pasta water and then strain. Add your pasta to the sauce, along with the Mozzarella, basil and a ladle of hot pasta water. Place the skillet on the still warm element where your pasta was boiling and toss the pasta to coat and melt the Mozzarella. If your sauce is too dry, add a little more pasta water and continue tossing. Divide and serve with some grated Romano cheese.

Penne all'arrabiata

Ingrédients (4 personnes):
500 g de pâtes penne rigate
60 ml d'huile d'olive extra vierge
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
500 g de tomates concassées
1 oignon haché
6 gousses d'ail hachées
sel
poivre
1 càc de chili en poudre
100 g de mozzarella râpé
une poignée de basilic frais ciselé
parmesan râpé

Dans une grande poêle, faites revenir les oignons, l'ail et le chili dans l'huile d'olive pendant environ 2 mn. Ajoutez les tomates concassées et laissez mijotez à feu moyen environ 20 mn jusqu'à ce que la sauce s'épaississe.

Pendant ce temps, faites bouillir de l'eau salée dans une casserole, ajoutez les pâtes et faites cuire selon les instructions (environ 10 mn).

La sauce doit être prête (épaisse). Assaisonnez de sel et de poivre et réservez au chaud.

Une fois les pâtes cuites, réservez une tasse d'eau de cuisson puis égouttez. Ajoutez les pâtes à la sauce, avec la mozzarella, le basilic et une louche d'eau de cuisson. Mettez la poêle sur la plaque encore chaude et mélangez pour que la mozzarella fonde. Si la sauce est très sèche ajoutez un peu d'eau de cuisson.

Servez dans des plats et parsemez de parmesan râpé.