Today's recipe draws inspiration from the famous spaghetti all'assassina, a dish native to Bari in Puglia. In that traditional preparation, pasta is cooked directly in the pan risottata, or risotto-style, with tomato stock added gradually until the spaghetti becomes bruciata, meaning burnt and crisp. However, this version takes a different path by incorporating two beloved ingredients: gochujang, the Korean sweet and hot chilli paste, and sun-dried tomato paste. The result is a killer dish, even if the name doesn't quite fit.
Crispy One-Pan Spaghetti with Gochujang and Mozzarella
For this recipe, you will need your widest nonstick pan. With any other type, the pasta is likely to stick. If your pan isn't wide enough to accommodate the spaghetti whole, simply snap it in half. A slotted spoon or fish slice is particularly useful for shimmying and folding the spaghetti.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 200ml passata
- 1½ tsp fine sea salt
- 5 tbsp good olive oil, plus extra to serve
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1½ tbsp gochujang
- 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
- 400g spaghetti
- 1-2 mozzarella balls
- Togarashi, to finish
Method
First, prepare a stock to cook the spaghetti in. Combine the passata, salt, and 650ml freshly boiled water in a heatproof bowl or jug, and set aside to steep.
Place the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring, for two minutes until pale golden. Then add the gochujang and tomato paste, stirring for a minute. Add the pasta and coat it in the paste and oil by sliding a spatula between the strands and shimmying until evenly coated. This prevents the pasta from cooking as a solid mass.
Pour in a quarter of the stock and shuffle the pasta briefly, then leave it untouched until the spaghetti absorbs all the stock. Repeat with another quarter of the stock, again without touching. Carefully fold the spaghetti with a spatula and distribute it evenly across the pan, as the outer bits may cook faster than the central strands. Continue with the remaining stock in two more additions, allowing each to be absorbed fully. This process should take about 15 minutes.
Once all the stock is absorbed, cook the pasta until it dries out slightly in the pan. When it begins to sound hollow and sparky, fold it over again. Cook for another 10 minutes, folding once halfway through, aiming to char and crisp some strands. Continue until you have nice crisp bits of pasta, then remove the pan from the heat.
Serve directly from the pan. Make a small dent in the centre of the spaghetti, tear open a mozzarella ball or two, and nestle the cheese into the pasta. Drizzle with good olive oil and a generous sprinkling of togarashi. Enjoy immediately.
