I was told that you won’t find this pasta on many restaurant menus in Italy because it is so simple and inexpensive, therefore mostly made at home. It does not require a lot of effort, just a few good ingredients to make it delicious. “Arrabbiata” means angry in Italian, which refers to the spiciness of it in this case, because I can’t imagine anyone being angry when presented with a plate of this pasta!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

1 kilogram (2 pounds) fresh tomatoes or a tin (app. 500 g) of San Marzano tomatoes or best quality you can find)

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 small pepperoncini peppers or dried hot pepper flakes (adjust the spiciness to your taste)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

parsley

salt

pepper

450 g penne pasta

Firstly, get you tomatoes ready. Place a pot of water on the stove and bring it to simmer. Meanwhile, wash fresh tomatoes and, with a sharp knife, make an X incision at the tip of the tomato. Place them in the simmering water for a minute. When you see the skins start to curl back, take them out, cool in some cold water and pull off their skins.

Halve peeled tomatoes and remove the seeds from the inside. Chop into chunks and set aside.

If using canned tomatoes, brake down whole tomatoes into chunky sauce (you can do it by hand, or pulse a few times in the food processor)

In a skillet large enough to hold the finished dish, place olive oil, sliced garlic and pepperoncino (or chilli flakes).

Bring slowly to a sizzle, stirring it, making sure that garlic doesn’t burn. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until tomatoes start falling apart and some of the liquid is evaporated, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Remove from water and place into the sauce about three minutes before it is done (when still quite al dente). Continue cooking the pasta for the remainder of the time in the sauce, stirring and adding some pasta cooking water if you feel it needs it, a bit at the time. The sauce shouldn’t be watery, it should be thickened and coating the pasta.

Just before serving, stir in finely chopped parsley.

Serve immediately, with some freshly grated pecorino Romano if you wish.