Spaghetti all’assassina (Burnt Spaghetti)

Spaghetti all’assassina, known as Burnt Spaghetti (Spaghetti bruciati) or Killer Spaghetti, is a traditional and simple dish from Bari, Apulia, Italy. It consists of a few simple ingredients: spaghetti, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oil, and chili pepper.

Why we love this recipe

Spaghetti all’assassina is a simple yet flavorful pasta dish that’s easy to make and always satisfying. These burnt spaghetti combines the sweetness of tomato sauce with the subtle heat of chili pepper and garlic for a unique and delicious taste.

You can also customise your dish based on your preferences – for instance kicking in some more chili pepper or reducing the amount for a lighter version.

Overall, spaghetti all’assassina is a classic Italian dish that’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or a special occasion.

Ingredients

As I anticipated, spaghetti all’assassina requires few and easy ingredients, so it comes in handy when you want to cook something tasty and quick.

• Spaghetti – we used bronze-cut Molisana spaghetti, but you can use lower-quality pasta, which is closer to the idea of this recipe.
• Tomato sauce – choose a non-spiced regular version. We suggest using Mutti, as it’s good and widely available.
• Tomato paste – use a plain version of this as well.
• Chili pepper – this is supposed to be a spicy dish, but you can choose to opt for a milder chili pepper if you wish so.
• Garlic
• Oil – clearly, extra virgin olive oil.

Why does this burnt spaghetti recipe differ from the rest?

We all know that if you tell an Italian person to cook pasta in a frying pan, they will leave the room and block any contact with you (only half joking), but surprise, this pasta is cooked in a pan. In fact, it recalls more the idea of a risotto.

The spaghetti are cooked in a broth of water, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Also, while usually you should cook pasta al dente, in this case, you can cook the pasta until a little burnt. From this comes the second name of this dish, burnt spaghetti.

Expert tips

To make the most out of your spaghetti all’assassina, there are a few tips to keep in mind.

First, be sure to use high-quality ingredients, especially when it comes to the olive oil and tomato sauce. The flavor of the dish heavily relies on these ingredients, so it’s important to use the best quality you can find.

Additionally, when cooking the garlic and chili pepper, be sure to not let them burn as this can result in a bitter taste.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to make a delicious and authentic spaghetti all’assassina (burnt spaghetti) every time.

Cooked like a risotto

The peculiarity of spaghetti all’assassina is the cooking method. When cooking risotto, we use a pan where we toast the rice, and little by little we add broth. The same applies to this dish, with the exception that we will use a tomato sauce broth.

In our pan, we will add the garlic cloves with olive oil and chili pepper, while in a pot we will make our broth with tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. The broth will have to boil and be left to simmer.

Once the pasta is added to the pan, let it cook for a while without adding any broth. When both sides are a little crispy, start adding the broth and cook until slightly burnt.

Origin

Spaghetti all’assassina comes from Bari, the capital of Apulia, where I come from.

History has it that two Italian tourists from the North visited a restaurant called Al Sorso Preferito, in Bari. The two tourists requested a tasty pasta dish, and the chef offered them a spaghetti dish with tomato sauce and a very generous amount of chili pepper.

When the tourists were asked how it was, they replied the chef was a killer, presumably because of the excessive chili amount. This story dates back to 1967 and was told by the chef himself in an interview issued in 2018.

There are other stories about it but they don’t seem to have any actual connection to reality, so let’s stick to the previous one.