A Michelin-Starred Chef's Spaghetti Croccanti (Oven-Baked-Style Pasta Inspired by Assassin's Spaghetti)
Staple · Noodle · Italian40 min(Prep 10 min + Cook 30 min) · 620 kcal per serving · 2 servings · Normal
A dish by Chef Antonio from Abruzzo, Italy, inspired by Puglia's specialty "assassin's pasta" (spaghetti all'assassina). The spaghetti is deliberately snapped in half and seared for over 20 minutes in nothing but tomato sauce, with water added little by little, so the entire surface of the noodles turns crisp. It lets you enjoy nothing but the "best crispy top layer" of pasta al forno (oven-baked pasta), the dish Italian families make on Sundays, and it echoes the chef's own childhood memories. Finish with butter and Parmigiano, fresh tomato, Abruzzo's signature sweet chili oil, and basil, then plate it flat.
Instructions
- Cut the garlic in half and remove the germ. Prepare a small amount of chili pepper as well. Go easy on the garlic, as too much makes the aroma overpowering.
- Heat a frying pan, add extra virgin olive oil, and gently heat the garlic and chili pepper over low heat. High heat brings out too much aroma, so cook slowly to draw out the sweetness of the ingredients.
- Once they reach a good state, take the pan off the heat and let the residual heat continue cooking them to draw out the aroma.
- Add the classic tomato sauce, then a small amount of tomato paste, and mix the base together well. Do not add salt at this stage.
- Snap the spaghetti in half. Full-length strands do not sit neatly on the plate, so break them deliberately to get the entire surface crisp. Do not throw away the small broken bits; save them for soup pasta and the like.
- Add the snapped spaghetti to the pan. Do not stir; let it cook slowly in the tomato sauce. At this point there is no water, only tomato sauce, so it takes time to heat through — cook it patiently. It takes at least 20 minutes until done.
- Add a small amount of water, lower the heat, and cook slowly. Press down with a spatula so crisp spots form on both sides.
- In addition to the Abruzzo diced tomatoes, add fresh tomato for a fresher note. Then add Parmigiano and a little more water.
- Keep cooking slowly over low heat and the bottom will caramelize and turn crisp. When it runs short of moisture, add a little water as you continue cooking. The key is not to let it dry out completely — keep it slightly moist, like the edge of a lasagna.
- Slowly flip everything over with a spatula and sear the other side until it caramelizes too. As long as the noodles do not bend yet, they are not cooked through, so keep searing for longer.
- Scoop it up with the spatula and flip it once more, then leave it to cook without flipping again. To finish, add a little water, dot with a bit of butter, and sprinkle Parmigiano to pull the flavors together. Adjust the seasoning with salt.
- Spread the crispy spaghetti flat on the plate rather than piling it up, and scatter diced fresh tomato over it. Drizzle with sweet chili oil and add basil. It is good cooled or at room temperature, and can be eaten with your hands or tongs, or cut with a knife.
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