We were in Italy a couple of weeks ago – a couple of days in Venice followed by a few days in Florence. While we were in Florence we took an organised day trip to San Gimignano, Siena, Castellina and finally a vineyard. On the way to Siena we were offered the option of having lunch at a place they’d chosen; we declined, hoping to go and find somewhere nice ourselves. Unfortunately, when we arrived we discovered that we’d have to find somewhere, eat and get back to the coach’s lunch spot in just 40 minutes!
We raced, somewhat aimlessly, down the streets and stumbled upon Trattoria La Tellina. The place was empty which is never a great sign, but it was still a bit early for lunch and we didn’t really have any choice so we went in. I ordered spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino (spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chilli) while Rob went for an arrabiata pasta dish. Mine was really tasty and very different to anything I’ve come across in Italian restaurants in London, but I still got food envy because Rob’s arrabiata sauce was the best I’ve ever tasted – absolutely divine!
We decided to try and recreate my dish – the final result was nowhere near as oily as the original (you decide if that’s a good or a bad thing) and was a little too fiery, but it was lovely nonetheless!
Tagliatelle Aglio Olio e Peperoncino
Serves 2
Prep time: 30 seconds
Cooking time: 10 mins
150-200g tagliatelle (depending how hungry you are)
2 cloves garlic, sliced four-ways
3tbsp good extra virgin olive oil (we used some we’d picked up in Lucca, mmm!)
2 whole dried chillis
salt and pepper
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
Bring a large pan with 2l of salty water to a rolling boil, then add the pasta and cook according to the instructions on the packet. When there are 5 minutes remaining, put the olive oil and chillis into a small frying pan and cook over a low heat for a couple of minutes, to bring out the flavour of the chilli. Season, then add the garlic and continue to cook for a couple of minutes taking care to ensure that it doesn’t burn as this will affect the flavour of the dish.
When the pasta is al dente, drain it then stir in the sauce and serve onto warmed plates, garnishing with the parsley.