Spaghetti All’Assassina “Assassin’s Pasta”

Fill a saucepan with the water. Add 1/8 cup of thetomato purée and the tomato paste, and bring to a simmer. Salt the broth to taste. All of the salt for the pasta comes from the broth, so be sure it tastes yummy to you!

In a large, cast iron skillet, add the olive oil and a pinch of chili pepper flakes or fresh chili peppers to taste.

Add the garlic & heat over high heat until it sizzles.

When it does, pour in the remaining cup of tomato purée and quickly spread it to cover the pan evenly.

Lay the spaghetti down in the center of the pan, and press it out as much as possible into a thin, even layer. The goal is to try and have as much of the spaghetti as possible in contact with the tomato sauce.

Now you need your killer instincts! Let the tomato sauce completely thicken and begin to burn (a little bit). The pasta touching the pan needs to acquire a some crispy caramelization.

When it does, use a spatula to gently flip it so that the other side can crisp up a little bit as well. Remember that it’s actually the residue of the tomato sauce that’s “burning” so try to ensure that the pasta has an even coating of it. Completely dry pasta won’t crisp.

When both sides are slightly burnt, add one ladleful of hot tomato broth into the pan. Let the liquid completely boil off; you’ll be left with more tomato residue.

Once again, let the pasta sit untouched until the side touching the pan has gotten a little crispy again. At this point the spaghetti will have softened slightly.

Stir the pasta around, flatten it down again, and add another ladle of broth.

This process repeats until the pasta is cooked al dente to your taste. Add broth, let the liquid cook off, leave the pasta alone to crisp a little bit, stir it together, flatten it out, repeat. It’s really simple once you get the hang of it!

Once the pasta has cooked to your liking, let it crisp up at the end as much as you like. Serve immediately, topped with a drizzle of olive oil.