Strangely, for me, when it comes to choosing a favorite dish, taste was not the primary factor in my decision. Rather, people with whom I ate and experienced memories played a major role in choosing my favorite dish. Consequently, pasta with Arrabbiata sauce (sugo all’arrabbiata in Italian), which I first tried in a modest Italian restaurant in Korea, still remains a meaningful and comforting dish to me. Contrary to my initial low expectations, the fiery, rich taste of Arrabbiata pasta charmed me. Unfortunately, due to the travel restrictions and separations by Covid 19, the only way to revisit the dish and its pleasant memories was to study its history and try making it by myself. Learning the prominence, history, and its simple recipe not only allowed me to appreciate the dish more, but also taught me how food culture is inseparable from our lives.

Pasta Arrabbiata, which literally means “angry pasta” in Italian, looks like any other tomato pasta at first glance. However, as the English translation of its name suggests, Arrabbiata pasta has a spicy and explosive taste that immediately makes one’s face turn red, as if one is angry. The Arrabbiata sauce is usually served with a penne pasta because penne absorbs the sauce better than other kinds of pasta. Based on the simplicity of its recipe and ingredients, one can assume it is a widespread comfort food in Italy.

Although it is widely accepted that Arrabbiata sauce was born in the Lazio region, around Rome, there are varying versions of its history. For example, a recipe of Arrabbiata Sauce from a website called Eat&Walk Italy provides a possible history, which claims the sauce was invented in a Roman trattoria, or restaurant: “According to the tradition, the arrabbiata sauce was born in the early twentieth century in a Roman trattoria whose host wanted to offer its customers an alternative to amatriciana. So, he left tomato and pecorino, added garlic and removed the bacon, replacing the bucatini with the penne, and considerably increased the amount of chili” (Arrabbiata: the Gritty Energy of Roman Sauce ). Unlike those of other well-known Italian pastas, the origins of Arrabiata pasta remains unknown. Nevertheless, its ingredients, such as chili and tomatoes, which are commonly seen ingredients in Roman houses, suggest its origin is certainly Roman. Similarly, another recipe from the Foodellers states that authentic Arrabbiata sauce does not have any meat in it: “Despite the appearances, there’s just one type of arrabbiata sauce in Italy and it doesn’t include any kind of meat, just tomato, and a few other ingredients. Forget about the chicken arrabbiata someone has sold you as Italian recipe because it’s not” (Anconitano). It was rather surprising to discover meat is not included in the sauce because most restaurants, at least the ones I visited, had generous amounts of meat in it. As a matter of fact, I thought meat in Arrabbiata sauce contributed to its richness in flavor. In addition, Arrabbiata pasta was celebrated in several films, such as Federeco Fellini’s Rome, and Marco Ferreri’s La Grande Abbuffata (The Great Binge). Such findings will help me appreciate both authentic and modified dishes.

Similar to those of other Italian pasta dishes perceived as comfort food, the process of making Arrabbiata pasta was far from being difficult. Perhaps its short cooking time, common ingredients, and simple recipes may have contributed to its prevalence in Italy. Such characteristics of a dish also enabled mediocre cooks like myself to successfully emulate its pleasant taste. As a result, my experience of cooking Pasta Arrabbiata directly illustrates the monumental influence of food in people’s lives.