Vegan spaghetti all'assassina with chilli and basil

Vegan spaghetti all'assassina from Bari: raw wholewheat spaghetti cooked in the frying pan with tomato stock, garlic and chilli until it starts to char. A vegan one-pan dinner.

At a glance

• Serves 2
• Prep time: 5 min
• Cooking time: 25 min
• Total time: 30 min
• Calories: 585 kcal per serving
• Protein: 19 g
• Fat: 18 g
• Carbs: 80 g

Ingredients

• 400g passata
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 500ml water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 200g wholewheat spaghetti
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 bunch of basil

Method

You’ll need: frying pan · saucepan · wooden spoon · spatula · ladle

1. Mix the passata, tomato purée, water and salt in a pan and keep the tomato stock hot over a low heat.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large iron frying pan and fry the chopped garlic and chilli flakes for 1 min without letting the garlic brown.
3. Lay the uncooked spaghetti side by side in the pan and pour two ladles of tomato stock over it. Fry over a medium to high heat until the liquid has cooked away and the underside starts to char.
4. Turn the spaghetti and pour in another ladle of stock. Repeat for 15 min, until the stock is used up and the spaghetti is al dente.
5. Finally, let the spaghetti fry for 2 min without stirring, so it turns crisp and dark in places.
6. Tear the basil over the top and serve the spaghetti straight from the pan.

Good to know

Assassin's spaghetti comes from Bari and has been doing the rounds on TikTok for months. The pasta cooks raw in the frying pan, ladle by ladle in tomato stock, and catches a little at the end. That crust is what the dish is all about.

Swaps

Wholewheat spaghetti → durum wheat spaghetti (classic, shorter cooking time). Chilli flakes → fresh chilli (fruitier). Passata → blended tinned tomatoes. Basil → parsley.

Cooking tips

An iron or stainless steel pan gives the best crust; in non-stick pans hardly anything catches. Don't keep stirring the spaghetti, or no charred spots will form.

Storage

Best eaten fresh; leftovers keep for 1 day in the fridge and crisp up again in the frying pan.

Allergens

Vegan; contains gluten, no milk, egg or nuts. Leave out the chilli flakes for children.

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