Spicy San Marzano Pasta

Heat That Blooms, Then Softens

There is a particular kind of red sauce that doesn't announce itself — it builds. It starts with garlic turning slow and golden in oil, then deepens with the gentle heat of chiles, then settles into something rich and round and patient. San Marzano tomatoes have always carried that quality: a sweetness underneath the acidity, a softness that rewards slow simmering. This is a weeknight pasta that asks very little of you, but gives back something that feels almost considered.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 package Alessi Organic Spaghetti Alla Chitarra
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Fresno chile, halved
• 10 large basil leaves
• 4 cups Alessi San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes
• dab of butter
• pinch of Alessi Sea Salt
• 1/4 cups freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
• approx. 1/4 cup pasta water (more or less depending on desired consistency)
• garnish with additional parmigiano reggiano and fresh basil

Instructions

1. Sauté garlic, red pepper, and Fresno Chile in olive oil over medium heat until garlic begins turning golden.
2. Add basil, tomato purée, pinch of salt, and butter. Combine and let simmer.
3. Cook pasta just under al dente and make sure you heavily salt your water (it should taste like the sea).
4. Reserve your pasta water.
5. Add pasta directly to the sauce, stir, and simmer on low for a few minutes (pasta will continue cooking).
6. Once fully combined turn the heat off and add parmigiano reggiano and pasta water, stir quickly to combine.
7. Plate and garnish with fresno pepper from sauce, lots of parmigiano reggiano, and fresh basil. Enjoy!