
A rich, spicy sauce flecked with pancetta, Italian sausage, and pepperoncini slivers is poured over perfectly chewy Bucatini.
A favorite dish at the local Italian star Mucci’s inspired this pasta. The arrabbiata sauce is a must-try with Bucatini. The Italian word “Arrabbiata” means “angry.” It is a fiery red sauce made with red pepper flakes. Mucci’s makes a spicy red sauce called arrabiata+ by adding pepperoncini for heat, Italian sausage, and pancetta to create a savory, smoky swirl.
The Restaurant That Inspired It All
Mucci’s Italian is a small, cozy place in St. Paul that offers a menu of delicious pizzas and pasta. (Hello, quick-fried dough!) There are also other tasty treats. Sometimes, there’s the occasional doughnut-meets-biscuit, “doughscuits” available only on weekend mornings until they sell out (which happens quickly). The patio is a new addition, and we love the house bucatini as well as the cacao pipe or Camilla pizza with FRIED CHICKEN. ).
You’ll always want to go back there. It’s an Italian restaurant that locals love. It’s so popular that some of their pizzas can be found in local grocery stores in the metro area because, apparently, enough people want to eat Mucci’s all the time now and forever. Here we are.
What’s in the Not-So-Secret Sauce?
The red sauce requires patience and love. Listen, pepperoncini and pancetta to add smokiness, or a briney bite is not going to hurt. These are only two of the best parts of this sauce.
Ingredients are essential because they allow flavors to concentrate. San Marzano tomato paste, which is crushed by Hand to bring out the natural sweetness, makes this sauce sing. Fresh red pepper flakes will give you a real kick of heat. This is an arrabbiata-inspired dish. You can choose any Italian sausage that you like because it won’t distract you.
It’s crucial to get the pancetta crispy right at the beginning. It’s important to get the pancetta base crispy at the beginning, not only for maximum flavor but also because they will turn into tasty little chewy bursts of salty sauce when added back in.
You can use hot Italian sausage if you want to really spice up this recipe. The red pepper flakes will give it a nice warm kick if you don’t use them.
The pepperoncini slices that are folded in at the very end of the sauce are a surprise. Even thinking about the little burst of heat and brine that cuts through all that rich, smoky sauce, I feel like I’ve been floating on a cloud.
What is Bucatini, and what does it mean?
Bucatini can be described as a mashup of macaroni and spaghetti. It has all the fun and excitement of macaroni but is long enough to be twirled like spaghetti. It has a bit more weight so that it can hold onto the sauce. And you will want to hang on to every drop of sauce.
You can make your own if you want to be like Mucci and be a pasta maker. If you’re like us, and making your own is not an option for you, you can usually find them at the supermarket. If you don’t see a noodle in your local store, you can get some by clicking here.
Listen, the sauce here is key, so other pasta is also great. You can use egg noodles like tagliatelle to get a texture that is even closer to what was originally intended. We wanted to play the twirly, twisty, chewy little straw game of the Bucatini.
Making this delicious pasta
The key to success is not complexity but patience. It comes together quickly and easily.
- Pancetta & sausage: Cook pancetta until crispy and well done to concentrate the flavor. Drain and remove. Add Italian sausage and brown until cooked. Remove, but leave a small amount of oil in the pan.
- Onions, garlic, and tomato paste. Sauté in the oil reserved until fragrant and soft.
- Tomatoes, spices, and herbs. Add crushed San Marzano tomatoes (did you overcome the San Marzanos by Hand? We hope you did! Add salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Add the sausage and pancetta to the pot.
- Add pepperoncini and simmer. Cover the pot and let it cook for 30 minutes. Add the broth to achieve the desired consistency. Then, add the pepperoncini. Simmer for a few more minutes until they become soft.
You can also sprinkle grated Pecorino on top for a creamy, salty finish.
This batch will make enough sauce for a few people so that you can save it for the next time. By “next,” we mean the moment after dinner when everyone is staring at their empty plates and wondering why it has to end. It doesn’t.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces diced pancetta
- One lb. ground sausage
- 1 Small Businesses Yellow onion, diced
- 6 Cloves You can also find out more about the following: minced
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- Two-thirds of the population are able to vote. 28 Cans -ounce Whole peeled tomatoes (I like San Marzano tomatoes) Hand crushed.
- One teaspoon Salt
- One teaspoon Fresh oregano, minced
- One teaspoon of Red pepper flakes
- 1 – 2 chicken broth. You can also find out more about Water Thin the sauce
- 2 – 4 The following are the ingredients of tablespoons Butter. If you want, you can tame the heat
- 1 Sliced pepperoncini More to Taste
Serving
- 8 Ounces bucatini pasta Serving
- 1/2 pecorino cheese. Top it off
Instructions
- Cook the pancetta in a heavy pot, such as a Dutch Oven, over medium-high heat until it is very, very brown. You want the pancetta to be cooked well, browned, and almost crispy. Drain oil from the pan and remove the pancetta.
- Brown the Italian sausage in the same pot until it is cooked and crumbled. Save a small amount of oil from the pan and remove the link.
- Add the garlic and onion to the pot. If needed, add a little olive oil. Sauté until fragrant and soft. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste.
- Add salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Add the sausages and pancetta to the pot. Cover the pot and simmer it for 30 minutes.
- Add broth and stir until the desired consistency has been reached. You can add Butter to the soup if you like.
- Add pepperoncini. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes, until the pepperoncini is very soft but still intact.
- Drain the Bucatini and return it to the pot. Pour the sauce over the cooked Bucatini and heat it for a couple of minutes to combine both sauce and noodles.
- Top bucatini topped with pecorino! MWAH. What a wonderful moment.