Nutmeg Free Classic Arrabbiata Sauce

Few sauces are as satisfying to make from scratch as this fiery Italian classic, built on nothing more than good olive oil, garlic, San Marzano tomatoes, and a generous pinch of red pepper flakes. The beauty of keeping the ingredient list this tight is that there's nowhere for unwanted spices to hide — what you see is exactly what you get, and nutmeg never comes anywhere near the pan. That matters more than you might think, since jarred pasta sauces and even some restaurant versions sneak warm spices into tomato-based recipes for depth, making them a minefield if you're trying to avoid it. Here, the heat comes entirely from red pepper flakes, and the richness comes from slowly coaxing the garlic to a pale golden edge before the tomatoes ever hit the pan. Crushing the whole peeled tomatoes by hand gives the sauce a rustic, slightly chunky texture that clings beautifully to pasta, while the long uncovered simmer concentrates everything into something deeply savory and glossy. A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley at the end adds a bright, herby finish that lifts the whole dish without complicating it. Once you've made this, it's genuinely hard to go back to anything from a jar.

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