Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic or more
- 3 chillies, fresh or dried or both
- 200g spaghetti if cooking for two people
- 1 1/2l boiled water
- a tube of tomato puree
- a handful of sliced cherry tomatoes if you want
Tools
Traditionally, this dish is made in cast iron pan, large enough to fit the spaghetti. You can of course use any other, but the result will not be satisfactory. In particular, avoid anything non-stick.
Prep
Combine boiled water and tomato puree to make a "broth", slice the garlic very finely, and crush/chop some of the chillies if you want.
Instructions
Heat the pan and add the olive oil. Fry the garlic and chilli (flakes) for a few minutes, then add sliced tomatoes (or a bit of passata) if using. Fry those until they're squishy and you've got a bit of juice, then add all of your spaghetti directly to the pan. Pour over just a teeny tiny bit of your "broth" and don't touch them until they burn. Once they do, add a little bit more liquid and use your spatula to unstick them from the pan. Mix them just a little bit, let them burn and then repeat the process until the spaghetti is cooked. The idea is that you build up a fair few bits of burnt, tomato-y goodness, but at the same time separate the spaghetti enough so that they can be eaten.
Notes
The ratio between water and tomatoes (or puree or sauce or whatever it is) should be about 1:1, but this will of course vary depending on how you do it. I like mixing puree and whatever tomatoes I have lying around, sliced or chopped or whatever.
If you don't like it too spicy, you can top this with stracciatella.