Welcome to your free online Assassina Pasta Course! In this class, you will master the Killer Spaghetti of Bari, Italy. No, it’s not just reheated pasta in the pan. Learn the right way to make this traditional recipe, as it has been codified by the local group overseeing its legacy.
This course is part of our series of Free Online Italian Cooking Classes for Pasta, where we teach you to cook pasta like Italians do—from dough to dishes.
Video Class Overview
This lesson is filmed in stunning 4K for visual clarity, with subtitles available in English, French, Spanish, German, and other languages.
Each class is structured to walk you through the techniques used by Italian cooks—so you can see what matters (and what doesn’t) when making pasta the traditional way.
Ingredients and How to Make Assassina “Killer” Pasta
The full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions are below. We’ve formatted the recipe for easy saving or printing. Be sure to watch the video first—it covers essential technique tips!
We use the most traditional measurements and techniques, so you can recreate this recipe exactly as it would be made in Italy. We recommend against shortcuts, so no substitutions unless noted.
Assassina Pasta Course
Equipment
- 1 large non-stick skillet —14” (36 cm) at least best: seasoned carbon steel or cast iron
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz tomato puree
- 5 oz concentrated tomato paste
- 5 cups water
- 3 cloves fresh garlic 2 whole and 1 minced
- ½ cup olive oil extra virgin
- 1 whole fresh red chili pepper minced; or to taste
- 14 oz spaghetti
- 2 pinches fine salt or to taste
- 1 pinch granulated sugar (optional)—to sweeten tomatoes if the product is too acidic
Instructions
Choose the Right Pan
- This recipe requires that the pasta slowly cook from start to finish in the skillet.Ideally you’ll want to use a pan that is a minimum size of 14” or 36 cm. A seasoned cast iron or carbon steel pan is the pan that the official group overseeing the tradition of this recipe recommends.
- If you need to use a smaller pan, you’ll want to break the dry pasta to fit it in the pan.
Make the Tomato Broth
- Combine the water with the tomato paste to make tomato broth. Add 2 pinches of fine salt and mix well. Bring the broth to simmer. In the meantime…5 oz concentrated tomato paste, 5 cups water, 2 pinches fine salt
Sauté the Garlic and Pepper
- Mince one clove of garlic and leave the other cloves whole.3 cloves fresh garlic
- Mince one fresh chili pepper after removing the seeds.1 whole fresh red chili pepper
- Cover the bottom of your skillet or pan with all of the olive oil and bring to medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper and sauté them until the garlic begins to turn golden.½ cup olive oil
Fry the Pasta
- Add the tomato purée to the pan with the flavored oil. Give it a stir and reduce for a minute.5 ½ oz tomato puree, 1 pinch granulated sugar
- Add the dry (uncooked) spaghetti) in an organized single layer across the pan. Raise the heat to medium and ‘fry’ the pasta until it is golden (not burnt). This takes about a minute.14 oz spaghetti
- Using thongs or a spatula, carefully flip the pasta to fry the other side. The pasta will still be stiff, so be careful to avoid breaking the strands.
- Give the pasta one more careful flip. Then, start adding the tomato broth!
Slowly Cook the Pasta
- Add 3 ladles of hot tomato broth to the pan with the pasta. At this point, we want to slowly cook the pasta like a risotto.
- Wait for the broth to reduce, and listen for the ‘sizzle.’ What you are hearing is the pasta starting to fry again and sticking to the bottom of the pan. So, when you hear the ‘scream’ of the sizzle, add a few more ladles of broth and repeat!
- Continue adding broth as needed until the pasta is cooked to ‘al dente’—adding a few more ladles of broth each time you hear the pasta 'scream'.
- Once the pasta has softened up, stir as needed to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- You’ll probably need a bit more cooking time than what is written on the package instructions. However, it’s best to set the timer to the ‘al dente’ time and taste at that point to see if the pasta is done.Don’t expect the exact same texture as a normally cooked ‘al dente’ pasta! This pasta will be a bit chewer due to the way it is prepared. Buon appetito!
Equipment and Tools
You don’t need a professional kitchen to make great pasta—but the right tools can make it easier. For this recipe, we recommend:
- Seasoned Carbon Steel or Cast Iron – Spaghetti all’Assassina is cooked entirely in a pan. So, you’ll need a pan that can accommodate the pasta without the need of breaking it. In the video, we are using a 14” (36 cm) seasoned carbon steel pan.
- Tongs – to flip the pasta in an orderly fashion, frying the pasta on all sides
How to Make Assassina Pasta
Originating in the 1960’s, what makes Spaghetti all’Assassina unique is its iconic preparation. It’s one of Italy’s only ‘pan fried’ pasta recipes. After frying the Assassina pasta, it is cooked slowly in the same pan like a risotto. This is done by adding a few ladles of hot tomato broth at a time. The result? A pan fried noodle taste that is bloody red with just the right amount of crisp to lend it that ‘al forno’ pasta taste.
- 00:00 – Intro to the Assassina Pasta
- 00:22 – Choosing the Right Pan
- 01:12 – Making the Tomato Broth
- 02:26 – Making a “soffritto” with olive oil, garlic, pepper
- 04:15 – Frying the Pasta
- 06:16 – Cooking the Spaghetti all’Assassina
Pro Tips for Making Assassina Pasta
Tomato Purée? Even better!
The traditional recipe recommends using a mix of water and concentrated tomato paste to make a tomato broth. In our experience, a thinned out tomato purée or passata results in an even more flavorful Assassina!
Will a Nonstick Pan Work?
Yes. The official Bari recipe for making the Assassina recommends seasoned carbon steel or seasoned cast iron. If using these types of pans, you must season the pan or the pasta will stick to the bottom as it fries.
Many students have rightly pointed out that it is generally discouraged to use acidic sauces like tomato sauce in a seasoned pan. It’s true, doing so can wear down the seasoning. However, we have decided to demonstrate the recipe as it was codified so from there we’ll let you make your own choice!
Common Mistakes to Avoid
No, it’s not just reheated pasta in a pan.
Even many Italians are under the delusion that they are making the Spaghetti all’Assassina if they’ve ever reheated pasta with tomato sauce in the pan with some oil. This is also a tasty treat, but it is not the Killer Pasta of Bari. The unique preparation of frying the pasta in the pan and slowly cooking it like a risotto results in a the pasta having a very different texture and taste than ‘reheated pasta in a pan.’