Pasta arrabiata

I never knew someday I would love pasta so much. Back to about 10 years ago, pasta was still something very new at the supermarkets in Vietnam. Only those high-class people who could afford meals in Western restaurants or in luxurious hotels might know of proper pasta dishes. At that time, Vietnamese people just bought a pack of dried pasta (which they didn’t call it pasta but in another Vietnamese word) out of curiosity, bringing it home and cooking it in Vietnamese way, which was not properly cooked. I used to try cooking that way, and I didn’t like it at all. After that time, I never cooked it again.

When I came to Singapore, I tried the pasta at my university canteens, and I did not like that pasta either. So I thought, there was nothing special about the so-called pasta. Little did I know that the pasta I ate at school canteens or at Western food stall at any food court or hawker center was the worst of all due to its low quality. Serving for students, or for low-income people, how would you expect the pasta with full necessary ingredients as it must be.

Not until when I came to Milan, Italy on my exchange study program did I really taste the real pasta right on the Italian land. That was the first lasagna I had ever tried, and guess what, I had it at the university canteen. But I loved it immediately. After coming back to Singapore. I decided to learn more about pasta, searching for information on the Internet, buying books on pasta, spending my savings from part-time jobs to buy the key ingredients, and starting my exploration into the world of pasta.

Now I really love it. And I love this Arrabiata, so so much. However, I couldn’t buy pancetta in Singapore, so I replaced it with bacon, and the taste was still so lovely.

Ingredients: (4 servings)

- 100g pancetta or bacon, finely chopped

- 3 red peppers, finely chopped

- 1 large onion, finely chopped

- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

- 500g tomatoes, blanched and skinned, chopped into small pieces

- 120ml water

- 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

- salt, pepper, to season

- freshly grated pecorino (I used parmesan instead)

- 400g pasta (penne)

Cooking:

- Cook the pancetta (bacon) in a skillet. Add the onion, garlic and pepper, lightly sauté over medium heat until brown, stirring several times.

- Add the tomatoes and water. Cover and simmer over low heat until the sauce has reached a thick, creamy consistency.

- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a big saucepan full of boiling salted water. Drain well and keep warm in the pan.

- Stir the parsley into the sauce and season to taste. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix carefully. Add freshly grated pecorino/parmesan and serve.