Copycat Carbone’s Spicy Pasta is an easy but flavorful dish to prepare that was inspired by the popular Spicy Rigatoni recipe on Carbone’s restaurant menu. Perfectly cooked pasta is tossed in with a rich and creamy red tomato sauce that is ready to serve in about 30 minutes.
Copycat Carbone’s Spicy Pasta
If you have ever been to New York City, you have probably been told to try to get a reservation at Carbone, a super popular Italian restaurant that is known for its spicy rigatoni pasta dish. The smooth and creamy light red sauce is like a vodka sauce, but like this recipe, there is no vodka in the sauce. If you can’t get a reservation or get to New York anytime soon, make your own spicy pasta!
Copycat Carbone’s Spicy Pasta Recipe
With just a few ingredients, you can have a creamy and hearty pasta dish on the table in less than 20 minutes!
How to Make Spicy Pasta
To get started making this delicious pasta dish, cook the noodles per package directions. Be sure to reserve a cup of pasta water to add to the dish later. Drain and rinse the noodles and set them aside as you prepare the sauce.
To make the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, or until you smell that wonderful garlic aroma! Add the tomato paste, cream, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Combine and cook these ingredients until they are heated through.
Here is where the reserved pasta water comes in. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency of the sauce. Finally, add the cooked pasta noodles and mix it all together. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with homemade garlic breadsticks. No one will ever know you didn’t get takeout from the Italian restaurant!
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cavatappi noodles, cooked according to package instructions
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 cup pasta water, reserved from cooked pasta
- fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- To get started, you need to make the pasta. Heat a large pot of water to boiling, add the pasta noodles, and cook them according to the package instructions.
- Be sure to reserve 1 cup of the cooked pasta water before you drain and rinse the noodles. Set the cooked noodles aside until you add them into the sauce.
- To make the red sauce, you will need a large skillet.
- Heat up the olive oil in the skillet over medium heat.
- Add in the garlic and cook that for about a minute.
- After the garlic has cooked for no more than a minute, add the tomato paste, cream, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook these ingredients together until they are heated through.
- At this point, you may need to add a little of the reserved pasta water to the sauce. Add one tablespoon of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency of the sauce.
- Finally, pour in the cooked cavatappi noodles and mix everything together until the noodles are coated with the red sauce.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm.
