#20 Italy's Angry Sauce: Salsa Arrabiata

Salsa Arrabiata. Literally "angry sauce" is my new favorite. It's spicy hot and delicious! So versatile, I added smoked turkey slices to the recipe. Ok, why smoked turkey breast? Well, because I had to, otherwise it will all spoil. Might as well. We don't like to waste. We used to like turkey sandwiches but now nobody in my home does. The many turkey sandwiches packed for lunch are almost always unconsumed, and  comes home intact with just a single bite inside the lunch pail from school.  I always do the chicken dance (secretly) when the lunch pail comes home empty. But when it doesn't... I get that sad look on my face that prompts her to immediately explain: "I didn't have enough time to eat".."lunch was too short".."the bell rang too soon", and then finally "I didn't like my lunch today". Single parenthood, has taught me that life is a lot easier when you choose your battles. Certainly not over smoked turkey breast, so I sliced them all! It's better off with the angry sauce!

SALSA ARRABIATA

Ingredients:

6 quarts of water

2 teaspoons salt

1 pound uncooked campanelle pasta

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) onion wedges

3 bay leaves

1 (3-ounce) prosciutto end piece, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, drained, seeded, and thinly sliced

1 (28 -ounce) can plum tomatoes, undrained and chopped

1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

1. Bring 6 quarts of water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a large stockpot. Stir in pasta; partially cover, and return to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook 6 minutes or until pasta is almost al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.
2. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bay leaves, smoked turkey slices and prosciutto; sauté 5 minutes or until onion softens. Add peppers to pan, sauté 1 minute. Stir in reserved 1 cup cooking water and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Discard bay leaves.
3. Add pasta to pan; cook 1 minute or until pasta is al dente, stirring well to coat. Remove from heat, and stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Those little pepperoncinis definitely spiced it up! So good.  While called pepperoncini in America, in Italy it is called frigitello or peperone. It is somewhat bitter, which I liked.

We learned more about Italy.We talked about Prehistoric Italy, showed her a picture of Neanderthals that once were present  roughly 500,000 years ago in what is now Modern Italy. She thought it was cool. We're really liking our "visits", I learn as much as she does. You learn so many things when you  teach. :) I'm so glad we started this.