This is a very basic pasta sauce; you can use fresh chillis, but the flavour will be more consistent if you use the dried variety. The word arrabbiata means "angry", hence the little kick of chilli.
You can finish this by scattering some fresh basil leaves over the top or even tearing some mozzarella (or ricotta) as I have here.
Penne or macaroni always work well with this dish; or stick with a straight long pasta.
4-5tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled, halved and finely chopped
1/2-3/4tsp dried chilli flakes, plus more if you wish
2tsp tomato purée
400g can of good quality chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
250ml vegetable stock
4 servings of pasta of your choice
Gently cook the onion, garlic and chilli in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes and stock, season, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring every so often. Add a little water if the sauce is getting too thick, as it needs to be a good coating consistency for the pasta. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to manufacturer's cooking instructions then drain, reserving a little of the cooking liquid for adjusting the sauce, and toss into the sauce, adding a little more olive oil and cooking liquid if necessary.
To see Mark Hix's exclusive cookery videos, see http://www.independent.co.uk/hixcooks
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