Well, if you are craving something spicy and want to tingle your tongue, it’s time to make arrabbiata. Arrabbiata comes from Italian cuisine and is enjoyed around the world. The name has an interesting story. Arrabbiata means angry in Italian, which translates into the fiery notes of the dish.

Arrabbiata is pronounced “ah-rahb-bee-AH-tah” with the stress on the second syllable. The pronunciation may vary slightly depending on regional accents. As difficult as the name sounds, arrabbiata is easy to make and full of flavour.

Arrabbiata Sauce Recipe

Arrabbiata is very easy to make. You need

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
14 ounces of tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Fresh basil leaves, chopped (This is optional but recommended)

Instructions

arrabbiata sauce ingredients

To make arrabbiata sauce, first prepare the ingredients. Start by mincing the garlic and chopping the basil leaves.
In a frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the minced garlic. Just fry for a minute or garlic will burn and leave that unwanted pungent taste. It can ruin the whole taste palette of the dish.
Then it’s time to add red pepper flakes. Add whatever amount of spicy you want and also, make sure they also don’t burn.
Crush the tomatoes. Then combine them with garlic and red pepper. Cook on medium heat for some time and the texture will turn into gravy. Keep the flame low and let it cook for 20 minutes. Make sure you keep stirring to avoid burning of sauce.
Add salt and pepper to your desired taste. The sauce will start to thicken resulting in intense flavors. So carefully adjust your spices. For example, if you want a bit saltish taste then even less salt will taste more in thickened sauce.
Sprinkle freshly chopped basil for that aroma and taste profile. It adds herbaceous notes to the dish, the speciality of Italian cuisine.
For serving, boil the pasta of your choice and spread arrabbiata sauce on it. You can also add cheese or basil or whatever presentation you like.

What Else Can You Do?

If you are fond of creamy pasta, add cream to the arrabbiata sauce. Alfredo pasta is another option, but arrabbiata is for spice lovers.
You can add your favourite meat to make the dish more rich and healthy. Be a little playful. Add sausage, meat, chicken, shrimp, whatever you like. You can also switch your meat options with your favourite vegetables to make the dish veg-friendly.

What Is Arrabbiata Sauce Made Of?

Usually, it consists of the ingredients that we mentioned above. These are garlic, tomatoes and seasoning. However, you can add onions to make the gravy thick and give it a sweeter taste. You can also add wine to make the taste notes more rich and complex.

Is There Any Difference Between Marinara, Tomato And Arrabbiata Sauces?

Arrabbiata has a fiery taste from red pepper, while marinara is a tomato-based sauce that is not defined by chilli heat.

Well, again for tomato sauce, it’s the spiciness level. Tomato sauce emphasizes more on tomato flavour. Whereas, arrabbiata sauce brings spiciness to the dish along with tomato flavour.

Are Arrabbiata And Penne Arrabbiata The Same?

Penne arrabbiata pairs the sauce with penne pasta. You can also serve the sauce with another pasta shape.

italian pasta

How Spicy Is Arrabbiata Sauce?

Arrabbiata sauce has a distinguishable spicy kick, but you can adjust the red pepper flakes to suit your preference.

Overall, the sauce should have a nice balance between acidity, sweetness and spiciness. The sweetness comes from tomatoes or onions, spiciness from red pepper and acidity from both spice and pungent taste of garlic.

How Are Arrabbiata Sauce And Bolognese Sauce Different?

These two are very different sauces. Bolognese is distinct in terms of flavour, texture and ingredients, while arrabbiata is a tomato sauce with a spicy kick.

The main ingredient in bolognese sauce is meat. Meat gives a rich texture to the sauce as compared to the arrabbiata sauce which has a tomato gravy-like texture. Also, making bolognese sauce needs more time and ingredients than arrabbiata sauce.

Adjusting The Heat

If spicy food does not agree with you, reduce the red pepper flakes or choose a milder tomato sauce. Follow any dietary advice you have received from a qualified healthcare professional.