Spaghetti alla Corte d’Assise (Spaghetti in a Spicy Calabrian Tomato Sauce)

Let’s take a culinary journey to my Calabrian roots. Today, I’m sharing a little known dish called Spaghetti alla Corte d’Assise. If you enjoy exploring Italian regional cuisine and like spicy food, you’re going to love this recipe. Spaghetti alla Corte d’Assise is a delicious and fiery primo with simple ingredients – extra virgin olive oil, garlic, fresh chilies, tomato, parsley, and of course, spaghetti. It’s easy to make, super yummy, and satisfying. Read on to hear more about this Calabrian pasta dish!

A little background…

I first had this dish years ago at my cousin’s house in Calabria. I’m talking over 10 years ago. I had never heard of it before and it wasn’t in any of my cookbooks, even my Calabrese ones. If you don’t follow me on Instagram, you might not know that I’m a complete cookbook addict! I have more than I will mention. I love discoveries like this. At the time, I took notes and even typed up the outline for the recipe. Incredibly, I’m only testing it now! Eek! Do any of you have such long recipe lists that you just can’t get to it all? Anyway, I finally decided to test the recipe and had a lot of fun researching it.

The story

The dish comes from a small town in the province of Reggio Calabria, called Marina di Gioiosa Ionica. It happens to be where my father was born. It was created at what is now called the Hotel Club Kennedy, formerly the Ristorante Hotel “da Rocco”. Supposedly one night in 1958, as the chef Gaetano Agostino was closing up the restaurant, some judges showed up, famished. They asked him to serve them something Calabrese and spicy. (Calabria is known for its spicy food.) He apparently created the recipe on the spot and one of the judges liked it so much that he had seconds. When the judge asked chef Gaetano what the dish was called, he said that it didn’t have a name yet. The judge christened it Spaghetti alla Corte d’Assise.

In Italy, the Corte d’Assise is the court system that deals with serious crimes, such as murder, terrorism, and enslavement. This judge, who worked in the Corte d’Assise thought that the name was appropriate, as the spice in the dish was as merciless as his job. Too funny!

Italian regional cuisine

Those of you familiar with Italian cuisine might be saying to yourself that this sounds like an arrabbiata, or angry (spicy) sauce. It is very similar to an arrabbiata sauce but is served with spaghetti vs. penne rigate, has tomato puree vs. peeled, crushed tomatoes, and I believe it is even spicier. Arrabbiata is also Roman vs. Calabrese. These kinds of nit-picky details really mean something to many Italians. They can be very passionate about their local dishes, and I love the emotion that traditional dishes can inspire. It’s part of the reason that I’m here. I hear people talking about food all of the time as I’m out and about. As I am similarly afflicted, I fit right in!

Notes on the recipe

In my research, I found that the original recipe contains only the ingredients I mentioned above, plus Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. However, now that the dish is over 60 years old, and is very popular in the area, you will see variations. My cousin Rosa, for instance, adds onion and butter to hers. Her daughter Maria Teresa also adds carrot and celery. In addition, she and uses half tomato puree, and half canned, peeled tomatoes. The cheese also varies – some use Pecorino Calabrese or Pecorino Romano. Keep in mind that the sauce is supposed to be good and spicy. Add more chilies as required to get it nice and hot!

The recipe below is based on how my cousins in Calabria make it and how I saw them prepare it at the Hotel Kennedy in a YouTube video. Note, if the tomatoes you are using are too acidic, you may need to add a pinch of sugar to get the balance right. I really dislike doing so but sometimes it is necessary. When I was testing the recipe, it just wasn’t tasting right, and the added sugar helped bring the sauce back on track. Make sure you taste as you go. If you can tomatoes in the summer, they will really shine in this dish. You can also put canned, peeled tomatoes through a food mill or in a blender to get your tomato puree.

If you want to serve up a great Calabrese meal, start with my Calabrian Stuffed Eggplants, and serve your Spaghetti alla Corte d’Assise with some broccoli or broccoli rabe with garlic and chili, a salad, and a beautiful glass of Cirò wine. Don’t forget some bread to scoop up any extra sauce, otherwise known as “Fare la scarpetta!”.

Spaghetti alla Corte d'Assise

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Serves: 4-6

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 500 grams (1 lb 1 oz) spaghetti
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 small onion, finely chopped, about 1/4 cup
• 1 small carrot, minced, optional
• 1 small stalk celery, minced, optional
• 700 grams (24 oz) tomato puree (tomato passata)
• 1 tablespoon butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 5 fresh chilies, minced (see note), or more to taste
• 2-3 tablespoons, parsley, chopped
• 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated, or more to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet, over low heat. Add the onion, and if using, the carrot and celery, a good pinch of salt and cook until very soft and beginning to brown. Stir frequently to keep it from sticking or burning. This should take about 10 minutes. The onion should taste sweet and tender, with no crunch.
2. Next, add the tomato puree. Rinse out the tomato puree bottle with about 1/2 cup of water to get all of the puree out, and add the tomato water to the sauce with another large pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook at a low simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep it from sticking.
3. Meanwhile, in a small skillet heat the butter or oil and cook the garlic and chili for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add 1 large tablespoon of parsley. Set aside.
4. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Once it comes to the boil, add a generous amount of salt. It should taste like sea water.
5. Once the sauce has thickened, add the garlic, chili and parsley mixture to the sauce. Cook together for 5-10 minutes to combine the flavors. Check for seasoning.
6. Boil the pasta until very al dente. Before it is completely cooked, about 1-2 minutes before it's done, scoop the spaghetti into the sauce and cook together over a gentle heat for 1-2 minutes to meld the flavors and add pasta water to loosen the sauce if necessary. Turn off the heat and add about 1/4 cup of the cheese to the pasta and sauce. Stir well to melt the cheese and make the pasta, sauce, and cheese creamy. Add more pasta water if it needs to be loosened up.
7. Serve immediately and garnish with the rest of the parsley and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add grated cheese to taste.

Notes

If possible, it's best to use fresh chilies. If Calabrese chilies are not available in your area, you may substitute cayenne or Thai-bird chilies, which are very similar. If you cannot find these, use serrano or jalapeno chilies. As a last resort, use crushed red chili flakes.