Arriabata Pasta Sauce

I’m absolutely obsessed with pasta, I feel like it is one of the most versatile food types out there. It can be made into a winter warmer, or the same recipe with a slight modification can be a light lunch on a summer day. I must eat about 5 or 6 pasta meals a week and it’s probably only Nicola who stops me from eating any more.

The following recipe is one of my favourites, its an arriabata sauce which I make about once a week. I’ve tinkered with it for quite a while now but I don’t think I ‘ll ever stop playing around with the ingredients. The pictures we’ve used here show ingredients which I haven’t included in the recipe but I decided to just write out the instructions for the sauce not the whole meal.

Ingredients

3 Chillis5 Anchovy Fillets1 Onion (I prefer red)Teaspoon Paprika2 tins of Chopped Tomatoes½ a glass of Red Wine (this is up to you though, it works fine without)Cherry Tomatoes Oregano

How To Make It
Chop and onion as small as you are able to (I usually use a processor to get them tiny)

Slowly fry the onions on a very low heat for about five minutes

Whilst these are cooking rip the stalks off the chillis, then depending on how hot you want it either chop and deseed the chilli (not so hot), prick the chillis about 5 times each (hotter) or prick two of the chillis and chop one (hottest)

After the onions have softened add the chilli, garlic, anchovy fillets (and vegetables if you want)

Let these fry on a hot heat for about two or three minutes, stir well here as you do not want sauce to stick to the pan. You should also give the chillis a bit of a bash as you stir to really get the flavours out

Then add paprika and a pinch of oregano and cook for a further minute on a medium heat

Add the chopped tomatoes, red wine, cherry tomatoes and a further pinch of oregano

The sauce is now basically ready, you should simmer on a low heat for a few minutes but after a good stir you can use it right away

n.b before you serve you should taste to make sure it has got a real kick, if you want to go hotter add some cayenne chilli powder