My most popular pasta dish. A rich and spicy tomato sauce tossed in bucatini and topped with marinaded mozzarella.
Notes
Marinade the mozzarella for up to 2hrs. More than this will make it mushy. You can just do it in the time you cook the pasta and it will still be great!
Chilli flakes to your liking as always. Go off your own spice levels if you like it more or less hot.
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
Marinaded Mozzarella:
2 balls of mozzarella
125ml extra virgin olive oil
Half a tsp salt
Half a tsp chilli flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh basil leaves, torn
Juice of one lemon
Spicy Bucatini:
Olive oil
3 fat cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tin whole tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
300g bucatini
10g parmesan
10g butter
Directions:
FOR THE MARINADED MOZZARELLA
Tear the mozzarella balls in your hands till you get jagged pieces. Transfer to a bowl and the remaining ingredients. Leave to marinade for up to 2hrs.
FOR THE SPICY BUCATINI
Set a sieve over a jug and drain the whole tomatoes making sure to catch the juice for later.
Put a medium pan on a medium heat with a generous glug of olive oil. Add the crushed garlic and the chilli flakes and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add the whole tomatoes from the tin and the tomato puree. Continue cooking over a medium heat for around 5-7 minutes. Try not to move this around too much as we’re looking to catch the tomatoes and caramelise them.
Pour in the reserved tomato juice from the can and reduce to a thick consistency.
Cook the bucatini in salted boiling water until al dente. We will finish cooking in the pasta sauce.
Transfer the bucatini to the tomato sauce along with a large spoon of pasta water. Stir to emulsify and bubble for a minute or so.
Add the butter and parmesan along with more pasta water to thin if needed. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required.
Serve with the marinaded mozzarella and some of the juices from the marinade. Top with more parmesan and chilli flakes if you like.
Enjoy!