The angry pasta

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The Italians have umpteen versions of pasta and an equally bewildering, nonetheless delicious, number of sauces. While in India the Spaghetti Bolognese and Carbonara are most famous because these were the one first adopted by Hollywood, the Pasta Arrabiata is perhaps the best suited for our palettes.

In Italian, “arrabiata” means angry, so this can be directly translated to the “angry pasta”. The anger comes from a healthy dose of chilli flakes in the sauce, perfect for our taste.

Pasta Arrabiata
Any ridged pasta like the penne can be used for this, though if you can get your hands on some Conchiglie, a unique, shell-shaped pasta, and serve it to your guests, the effects will be manifold.
The original recipe asks for pecorino cheese, but Parmesan will do as they are quite similar.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (3 tbsp if not using bacon)
150 gm streaky bacon (leave out if making a vegetarian pasta)
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 can (around 250 gm) diced tomatoes, in sauce
2 tsp crushed dried red chili
2 tsp basil, shredded
1 pinch black pepper
300 gm dry penne or conchiglie pasta
1/2 cup finely grated pecorino romano or Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Method
Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the bacon over medium heat. Just as the bacon is getting crunchy, add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, till the garlic starts to change colour. If not using the bacon, proceed with the garlic straight away.
Add the chilli flakes, the tomatoes and sauce and stir. Cover and cook for around 15 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile in a large pot, add a substantial amount of salted water to boil. Cook penne until al dente(cooked, but firm). Strain pasta.
Remove the sauce from heat and cool for five minutes. Push the sauce through a fine strainer with the back of a spoon and return it to the saucepan and heat again. Add the cheese once the sauce is hot and stir. Add seasoning.
Add the pasta and toss to coat.
Serve hot with extra pecorino cheese at the table.