Georgina Hayden’s Quick and Easy Sun‑Dried Assassin’s Spaghetti Recipe
A spicy, tomato‑rich pasta cooked like risotto, finished with charred edges and fresh basil.
Ingredients
3 tbsp tomato puree
120ml extra‑virgin olive oil (plus extra for serving)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1‑2 red chillies, finely sliced (pith and seeds removed if you prefer less heat)
100g sun‑dried tomatoes, finely chopped
300ml passata
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
350g spaghetti
A few basil sprigs, leaves picked
Preparation
Dilute the tomato puree in a litre of just‑boiled water and set aside.
Heat a large frying or sauté pan over medium‑low heat. Add the olive oil, garlic and chillies, and fry for about a minute until lightly fragrant.
Stir in the chopped sun‑dried tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the passata and season generously with sea salt and black pepper. Simmer vigorously for five minutes until the sauce looks glossy and rich.
Lay the spaghetti flat in the pan, spreading it to cover the bottom. Cook on medium‑high heat until the pasta begins to absorb the sauce, then ladle in some of the hot tomato broth. Continue cooking, adding broth only after the previous liquid has been absorbed, much like risotto.
If needed, raise the heat to high to develop a crust underneath the pasta. After eight to ten minutes, flip the spaghetti with a spatula; a slightly charred crust should appear.
Keep ladling in broth and allowing absorption for another eight to ten minutes. Flip the pasta again so both sides develop crisp, charred edges.
When the spaghetti is fully cooked and the broth is absorbed, drizzle extra‑virgin olive oil over the top and scatter the torn basil leaves.
This dish can be finished with parmesan, though the recipe notes that the flavors are already abundant.
