The Best Spaghetti all'Assassina Recipe (Assassin’s Pasta)

What Is Spaghetti all’Assassina?

Spaghetti all’Assassina, also known as "Killer Spaghetti," is a delicious and fiery dish that originated in Bari, a charming coastal city in Italy’s Puglia region. This unique variation of spaghetti is known for its bold flavors and slightly crispy texture, making it a standout dish for anyone who loves a bit of adventure on their dinner plate!

The name might sound a bit dramatic, but it's all in good fun! The “assassina” (killer) part of the name comes from the method of cooking the pasta — aggressively and with high heat, which "kills" the spaghetti. The pasta is sautéed directly in a hot pan with olive oil, allowing it to get wonderfully crispy and browned. Tomato sauce, typically spicy with a generous amount of garlic and chili peppers, is then added to the pan, creating a lively sizzle and infusing the pasta with a robust flavor.

As the sauce reduces and clings to the spaghetti, it caramelizes slightly, giving the dish a unique texture and an extra punch of taste. Spaghetti all’Assassina is often finished off with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs, adding layers of flavor that make each bite more exciting than the last.

Why You’ll Love This Spaghetti all’Assassina Recipe

Spaghetti all'Assassina is a dish so deliciously daring, it's bound to be love at first bite. Here’s why you’ll love it.

Flavor Explosion: Spaghetti all’Assassina is famous for its bold and robust flavors. With a sauce that perfectly balances the richness of tomatoes with a kick of spicy peperoncino, each bite is a harmonious blend of heat and heartiness. The slightly charred pasta adds a unique smoky touch you can’t get enough of!

Simple Ingredients, Incredible Taste: One of the best things about this recipe is that it uses simple ingredients that are easy to find but delivers an incredible taste experience. You probably already have everything you need in your pantry!

Exciting Cooking Technique: This dish isn’t just about tossing pasta into boiling water. Spaghetti all’Assassina involves a fascinating cooking method where the pasta is fried and then simmered in tomato sauce. This technique not only intensifies the flavor but also gives the pasta a wonderful texture that’s both crispy and tender.

Conversation Starter: Not only is this dish delicious, but it also comes with a cool backstory that’s perfect for dinner conversation. Originating from Bari, Italy, the name itself – Assassina, meaning 'assassin' – is enough to spark curiosity among your guests!

Versatility: Whether you’re cooking a cozy meal for the family or looking for something special to serve at your next dinner party, Spaghetti all’Assassina fits the bill. It’s versatile, impressive, and can be tweaked to suit different spice levels and preferences.

The Ingredients You Will Need To Make Spaghetti all’Assassina

Tomato Paste and Water: These are needed to create a tomato broth.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A key ingredient needed to cook the armatics and char the pasta, so make sure that you don’t use just any old olive oil.

Aromatics: We use Calabrian chili peppers for a kick and minced garlic, Italian seasoning and black pepper for depth of flavor.

Crushed canned tomatoes: We use our Italian San Marzano Style crushed tomatoes.

Spaghetti: This pasta cut is classic, but you could any other long cut pasta you have on hand.

Burrata: Burrata is added to spaghetti all'Assassina to provide a creamy, fresh element that balances out the dish's intense spiciness and charred flavor, essentially acting as a "cooling" counterpoint to the burnt pasta.

How to Make Spaghetti all’Assassina

1. Start by making a tomato broth. Bring the water to a boil, add the tomato paste and salt and cook for at least 10 minutes.
2. Next, prep the sauce. Start by cooking the peppers and garlic until slightly fragrant. Then add the crushed tomatoes and cook until warmed through about 5 minutes.
3. Cook and char the spaghetti. Place the uncooked spaghetti in the skillet. Spread the spaghetti in one layer, pushing down and spooning the sauce over the top so the noodles are well-coated. Turn the heat to high and let it sit until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce, about 3 minutes. NOTE: Do not move or toss the pasta as this is how it gets charred.
4. Continue to cook with the tomato broth. When the pan starts to look dry, add a ladle of the warmed tomato broth. Once the majority of the broth has been absorbed, add another ladle or two of the tomato broth over the pasta. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue to ladle the tomato broth over the pasta, letting it absorb the broth before each new addition (this is a similar cooking method to making risotto).
5. Flip the pasta and continue to cook. When you’ve used about half the broth, use tongs to turn the spaghetti over. You should see dark, almost burnt-looking crispy pieces. This is where the robust flavor comes from! Continue ladling in the broth and allowing the spaghetti to absorb and char until you’ve used all of the broth.
6. Finish and serve. Remove from heat and transfer to pasta bowls. Serve with spoonfuls of burrata on top.

Top Tips

Use the proper pan. To make assassina without a pot of boiling water, you need a skillet large enough to accommodate the full length of the spaghetti, which means one that's at least 12 inches in diameter. Be sure to use a quality pan.

Use quality pasta. Our pasta comes from the town where pasta was born, a region near Naples, at the beginning of the Amalfi Coast. The art of making our pasta begins with the very best quality wheat. We carefully choose wheat with the highest gluten index, gluten content and protein content. All of these characteristics affect how the pasta cooks, as well as its taste and texture. The durum wheat is milled into coarse ground semolina flour and then carefully kneaded with cold, fresh, mineral-rich mountain spring water. We dry our pasta slowly at low temperatures to reproduce the traditional way of making pasta. This method respects the ingredients, preserving the pasta’s color, texture and aroma.

Adjust the heat. The amount of Calabrian chili peppers in this recipe makes a spicy but not super spicy dish. If you like heat, up it to three tablespoons and consider garnishing with more.

Spaghetti all’Assassina: FAQ

Why is it called Spaghetti all’Assassina?

The intriguing name "Spaghetti all’Assassina" translates to "Assassin's Spaghetti" in English, and there's a fun story behind it. This dish hails from Bari, a beautiful city in the Puglia region of Southern Italy.

Legend has it that this dish gets its dramatic name from the method of cooking the pasta, which is quite unique and aggressive compared to the traditional way of boiling spaghetti. In this recipe, the spaghetti is pan-fried in oil, tomatoes and a tomato broth until it gets super crispy and almost burnt. This technique is known as "risottata," which allows the pasta to absorb the flavors intensely, akin to the way rice is cooked in risotto.

The "assassination" part humorously refers to the almost violent treatment of the pasta in the pan, as it's "killed" by being fried rather than gently boiled. This bold cooking method leads to a deliciously rich, caramelized, and slightly spicy dish, often enhanced with a red sauce made from garlic, tomatoes, and a kick of Calabrian chili peppers.

Do I have to use Spaghetti pasta?

While traditional spaghetti all'Assassina typically uses spaghetti, you can absolutely get creative with your pasta choice. Feel free to use any type of pasta you have on hand, like linguine, fettuccine, or even penne. The key to the dish is in the cooking technique and flavors, so don't be afraid to mix it up and make it your own.

Can I make Spaghetti all’Assassina ahead of time?

You can definitely prepare some elements of Spaghetti all’Assassina ahead of time, but for the best experience, you should do the final cooking steps just before serving. This unique and delightful dish is best enjoyed fresh to really savor its signature crispy texture and bold flavors.

If you want to get a head start, you can prepare the tomato broth and sauce earlier in the day or even the day before. Simply reheat it gently while you cook the pasta. This way, you’ll have the delicious spicy and garlicky tomato sauce ready to go, and you can focus on perfecting those crispy, slightly charred bits of pasta that make Spaghetti all’Assassina so special.

Remember, the key to this dish is in the final frying step, so gather your friends or family around the kitchen and enjoy the sizzle and aroma of the pasta as it crisps up.

The Best Spaghetti all'Assassina Recipe (Assassin’s Pasta)

• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup DeLallo Tomato Paste
• Kosher salt
• DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons DeLallo Crushed Calabrian Chili Peppers
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 16 ounces DeLallo San Marzano Style Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon DeLallo Italian Seasoning
• Ground black pepper
• 1 (16-ounce) package DeLallo Spaghetti
• Burrata

Directions

1. Make a tomato broth by bringing the water to a boil in a medium saucepan set over high heat, then stir in the tomato paste and season generously with salt. Turn off the heat and set aside.
2. Set a wide, deep skillet large enough to lay the spaghetti in it over medium-high heat.
3. Add 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is hot add the chili peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring regularly until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes to the skillet and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Place the uncooked spaghetti in the skillet. Spread the spaghetti in one layer, pushing down and spooning the sauce over the top so the noodles are well-coated.
6. Turn the heat to high and let it sit until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce, about 3 minutes.
7. When the pan starts to look dry, add a ladle of the warmed tomato broth. Do not move or toss the pasta. Once the majority of the broth has been absorbed, add another ladle or two of the tomato broth over the pasta.
8. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue to ladle the tomato broth over the pasta, letting it absorb the broth before each new addition.
9. When you’ve used about half the broth, use tongs to turn the spaghetti over. You should see dark, almost burnt-looking crispy pieces. This is where the robust flavor comes from!
10. Continue ladling in the broth and allowing the spaghetti to absorb and char until you’ve used all of the broth.
11. Remove from heat and transfer to pasta bowls. Serve with spoonfuls of burrata on top.

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