| Arrabbiata sauce | |
| Country: | Italy |
| Region: | Lazio |
| Type: | Sauce |
| Served: | Hot combined with pasta |
| Main Ingredient: | Tomatoes, red chili peppers, garlic, parsley, olive oil |
Arrabbiata sauce, known in Italian as sugo all'arrabbiata (arabbiata in Romanesco dialect), is a spicy sauce for pasta made from garlic, tomatoes, and dried red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. The sauce originates from the Lazio region of Italy,[1] and particularly from the city of Rome.
Arrabbiata literally means 'angry' in Italian; in Romanesco dialect the adjective arabbiato denotes a characteristic (in this case spiciness) pushed to excess.[2] In Rome, in fact, any food cooked in a pan with a lot of oil, garlic and chili so as to provoke a strong thirst is called "arrabbiato" (e.g. broccoli arrabbiati).[2]
The invention of the dish dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, at a time when hot (meaning here spicy or peppery) food was in vogue in Roman cuisine.[3] The dish has been celebrated several times in Italian movies, notably in Marco Ferreri's La Grande Bouffe (1973) and Federico Fellini's Roma (1972).[4]
The main ingredients are peeled tomatoes, garlic, plenty of cayenne chili peppers, salt and extra virgin olive oil. Sometimes grated parmesan and pecorino romano cheese are added to the pasta.[3]