Assassin's Pasta (Spaghetti all'Assassina) with Pumpkin Cream and Sweet Olives
Staple · Noodle · Italian55 min(Prep 20 min + Cook 35 min) · 620 kcal per serving · 4 servings · Hard
A reinterpretation of "Assassin's Pasta" made by Italian chef Mimo Chef at a restaurant in Martina Franca, Puglia. The key is to sear dry spaghetti — never broken — in an iron pan while adding tomato broth little by little, creating a fragrant crostina (crispy crust). The dish is served over a bed of pumpkin and potato cream, paired with sweet Pugliese olives sautéed with garlic and chili, and finished with a scattering of fresh lavender flowers for a seasonal touch.
Instructions
- Simmer the kabocha squash, potatoes, and red onion in broth until tender, then blend with an immersion blender to make a smooth pumpkin and potato cream.
- Heat olive oil in a pan for the olives over fairly high heat, and once it just begins to smoke, add the garlic and fresh chili to release their aroma.
- Raise the heat, add the sweet olives, and sauté. Cook them well to bring out their aroma and sweetness.
- Crush the good-quality whole peeled tomatoes roughly by hand and add them to the pan. Remove the garlic once it has colored, and let the sauce reduce for a few minutes.
- Season the sautéed olives with coarse salt and taste. A faint bitterness (amarognolo) is what you want.
- Prepare a 36cm iron pan. In a separate bowl, dissolve double-concentrated tomato paste in water to make the tomato broth and add a pinch of salt (add basil leaves if you like). For the pasta garlic, remove the germ at the center before crushing it.
- Pour plenty of olive oil into the iron pan and heat until it smokes, then add the chili and garlic to release their aroma all at once.
- Add the crushed tomatoes (passata) to the pan, raise the heat, and reduce for a few minutes.
- Add the 360g of dry spaghetti to the tomato sauce in the pan without breaking it, and coat the strands evenly with the sauce.
- Cook while adding the tomato broth little by little, using the starch from the pasta to create a creamy texture (cremina) while letting the pasta stick to the bottom of the pan to form a fragrant crostina. Adjust the final seasoning with salt.
- Spread the pumpkin and potato cream on the bottom of the plate and place the assassin's pasta with the olives on top. Finish by scattering fresh lavender flowers for aroma and color.
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