Spicy rigatoni
The famous restaurant rigatoni in a creamy, rusty-orange tomato sauce with a real chili kick, made without any vodka.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.80 a serving
- 820 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb rigatoni
- 4 oz tomato paste, about ½ cup
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup grated parmesan, plus more to serve
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 820 calories, 22 g protein, 96 g carbs and 39 g fat, and costs about $1.80 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No rigatoni? Penne works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, cover and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
While it heats, the shallot and garlic.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Cook the rigatoni 1 minute less than the package says.
High heatTimer: 11 min
Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic and pepper flakes and cook 3 minutes, stirring, until soft and .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Stir in the tomato paste and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until it darkens to brick red and starts to stick to the pan.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cooking the paste is what makes this taste deep instead of tinny. It’s ready when it smells sweet and looks rusty.Pour in the cream and stir until smooth and pink-orange, then let it bubble gently for 2 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 2 min
Scoop out 1 cup of , then the rigatoni.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Add the rigatoni, butter, parmesan and ½ cup and over low heat until the sauce is glossy and hugs the pasta.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Low heat
Taste, add salt if it needs it, and serve with basil and more parmesan.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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