One Pot Spicy Rigatoni
This rigatoni is drenched in a rich, spicy and creamy tomato sauce. Better still - it's all made in one pot!
Servings: 4
Cost: £2.50 / $3
Equipment
- Large Pot & Wooden Spoon
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Jug (for stock)
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 14oz / 400g uncooked Rigatoni, or other short cut pasta
- 4 cups / 1 litre Chicken Stock, preferably not boiling hot (see notes)
- 1 cup / 250ml Heavy/Double Cream, at room temp
- 3/4 cup / 100g Sun Dried Tomatoes, finely diced
- 1/3 cups / 3oz / 85g Tomato Puree (tomato paste in US)
- 1/3 cup / 1oz / 30g freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/3 cup / 80ml Dry White Wine (see notes)
- 5oz / 150g Pancetta (see notes)
- 1 medium Onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1/2 small bunch Fresh Basil (~2 heaped tbsp finely diced)
- 1 tsp Chilli Flakes (see notes)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot over low-medium heat add the pancetta. Gently fry to render down the fat until the pancetta is crisp. Raise heat slightly to medium and add in the onion. Fry until soft & golden, then add sun dried tomatoes, garlic & chilli flakes. Fry for a further 2mins.
- Add in the tomato puree/paste and fry for 2 mins (it's important to fry the paste so it caramelizes and sweetens). Pour in the wine and deglaze the pan with your wooden spoon. Allow to bubble for a few mins, or until the paste re-thickens (important to burn off the alcohol).
- Pour in the chicken stock & cream and give everything a good stir, scraping the base of the pot if needed. Add in the rigatoni and bring to a gentle simmer. Turn heat to low-medium and cook the pasta until al dente, stirring frequently as you go. If the sauce soaks up before the pasta cooks, just add in more water (preferably hot) a splash at a time until the pasta cooks through and the sauce thickens and clings to it.
- Turn off the heat and stir through the parmesan and basil. Adjust seasoning/spice if needed, then serve up and enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Stock/Cream - I typically make the stock at least 5 or so mins in advance, just so it's not piping hot. Also, make sure the cream is at room temp. If you add fridge-cold cream to a pot of boiling hot stock it may curdle. Also, make sure you're using heavy (US) double (UK) cream. Don't sub low-fat alternatives otherwise you run the risk of curdling too. Also, the sauce won't be as thick/rich!
b) Pancetta - This adds a gorgeously rich, salty flavour. I highly recommend adding it. If you don't have it, an obvious alternative is bacon. If I'm making this pasta veggie I usually replace it with spinach (stir through at the end with the basil, around 3.5oz/100g works well). I then also stir in a pinch more parmesan to replace the loss of salty/richness from the pancetta.
c) Wine - This adds a nice undertone of flavour, and also helps cut through the richness of the sauce. You don't need expensive wine, something cheap will do the trick. Most of the alcohol will burn off, but if for whatever reason you don't want to use it just leave it out.
d) How spicy is this pasta? - Although chilli flakes will differ in spice from brand to brand, 1 tsp will give you a good kick of spice (maybe 6 or 7/10?). You can of course add more if you want. I recommend doing this at the end, just so you don't go overboard. With the same token if you're at all weary just start with half the amount and adjust if needed.
e) Serving - I typically serve this up with some extra fresh basil and a pinch of chilli flakes. If you watched the video, you will see I snuck on some burrata, which does happen sometimes. But that's totally optional!
f) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4.
Nutrition
Calories: 803kcal | Carbohydrates: 91.95g | Protein: 18.04g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 15.201g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.922g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7.534g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 347mg | Potassium: 1034mg | Fiber: 13.1g | Sugar: 8.21g | Vitamin A: 1365IU | Vitamin C: 9.3mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 2.62mg