Today is World Pasta Day, and we’ve chosen to highlight Enzo’s Spaghetti all’Assassina recipe. Its history in Abruzzo highlights migration and shows how food has an extraordinary way of popping borders and creating union, reminding us that shared flavour is a universal language.
My friend Enzo, a part-time truffle hunter, heads the Pro Loco Poggio Umbricchio, which runs the village’s autumn White Truffle Festival. Poggio is a small village up in Teramo’s Gran Sasso Mountains, whose festival was primarily created to keep connections alive. It was to encourage those who migrated and were wavering about visiting their ancestors for the traditional ‘I morti’ visit on All Saints Day (2nd November) to return for the weekend. Now it’s a thriving festival that hosts 3000 people over the weekend, and was awarded ‘Sagra di Qualità’ by the Senate in 2024. Not bad for a village of 40 people!
Enzo invited my teenage son and his friend to a Spaghetti all’Assassina cooking lesson at the village’s newly restored old mill. The mill, now with a cafe and bar, is situated in one of Abruzzo’s loveliest barbecue spots in the Gran Sasso mountains, with grassy riverside terraces descending to the river, where you can dip or swim, and an indulgent day under the canopy of trees.
Woodsmoke and Promise
Enzo believes food always tastes better in the open air, and it would be hard to find anyone who disagrees. Maybe it’s the simple setting or the relaxed mood. In those moments, pasta becomes a way to create meaningful connections and memories, not just a meal.
He told us that Spaghetti all’assassina was a village staple, a simple, hearty shepherd’s meal, likely brought from Puglia during the transumanza. Some claim it started in a restaurant in Bari in the 1960s, others a decade ago, who knows! It is easy to make, nutritious, and requires only 2 pans. It was something that could be conjured up in the fields. He added another level to the dish by grating fresh black summer truffles he and his dogs had found the day before he served it. We even tried eating it with a fork made from a whittled branch that he had made, just like shepherds used to do, as a playful nod to those pastoral roots. The spaghetti, cooked in one pan with the sauce, really comes to life, texturally and a rich dance for the taste buds.
This World Pasta Day, get outside if you can. Choose a simple dish. Find good oil and fresh pasta. Add a little twist, maybe a little truffle! Gather friends or family. Fire up the open space. Make a memory.
Enzo's Spaghetti all'Assassina
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Wide flat bottomed frying pan
Ingredients
For the Tomato Sauce
- 800 g Tin of Whole Plum Tomatoes
- 4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
- Pepperoncino flakes (red chili flakes) to taste
- 500 g Long spaghetti like pasta
For the Tomato Broth
- 400 ml Water (enough to cook pasta)
- 3 Tbsp Tomato puree
- 2 Pinches of Salt
Instructions
Prepare the Tomato Sauce
- In a frying pan over medium heat, add some good glugs of olive oil, the garlic and pepperoncino (chili pepperflakes), sauté briefly until aromatic.
- Add the tin of tomatoes. Chop with a knife and ook down until the tomatoes soften and start to form a sauce, about 10-15 minutes. If you like, you can blend it a little for smoother texture, or leave it more pulpy and rustic.
Prepare the Tomato-purée “Broth”
- In a separate pot, warm the water, then stir in the tomato purée until dissolved and lightly seasoned with salt.
- Keep this warm and ready to add.
Cooking the Spaghetti
- Use a wide, heavy pan (so pasta can lay flat). Add a little olive oil, let it heat.Add the pasta dry (or partially so) into the pan, and pour in a bit of your fresh tomato sauce so the base is coated. Let the pasta sit so the bottoms begin to get a little caramelised or browned.
- Then gradually add ladles of alternate sauce and the warm tomato-purée broth (from step 2), letting the pasta absorb the liquid as you go — similar to a risotto technique. Continue until the pasta is cooked al dente and the sauce is thick and clinging. The bottom may have bits of crispy browned pasta (that’s expected).
Finish & Serve
- Once pasta is done, serve immediately. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Grate fresh black summer truffle over each serving for your special outdoor version.
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a freelance SEO content creator and IGCSE Geography and English teacher at Istituto Cristo Re in Rome. She also runs the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, sharing stories and insights about this captivating region.
Alongside raising a teenager, Sam hosts guests at her family’s traditional home, the Little House of the Firefly in Abruzzo, offering a warm welcome and insider tips on local culture, food, and hidden gems.
