Venetian-Style Spaghetti allArrabbiata

Colleen's take: "I couldn't find the fresno chilies for this recipe, so I used red pepper flakes. I originally wanted to use up my saffron that I spent half my life savings buying and only used once, so when my pregnant self saw a recipe filled with pasta & saffron my eyes were the size of saucers and I ripped it from the Rachael Ray Magazine that second. Results were positive, I thought it tasted like pizza spaghetti, kinda weird, but boy did my kids love the mess out of it!" 

Ingredients

• salt
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 2 fresno or other medium- hot red chile peppers, very thinly sliced (I leave in the seedsthe hotter the better!but remove them if you want to dial back the heat level a bit)
• 4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• freshly grated parigiano-reggiano

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving 12 cup of the pasta cooking water.
2. While the pasta is working, in a small saucepan, bring the chicken stock and saffron to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer to keep warm.
3. In a deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid,heat the EVOO, 4 turns of the pan, over medium heat. Stir in the chiles and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and saffron stock, cover and cook over medium-high heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes burst, about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and mash the tomatoes a bit with a potato masher. Stir in the parsley.
4. Toss the pasta with the sauce and a handful of cheese. Add a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water to combine. Serve the pasta in shallow bowls; top with more cheese, if desired.

My oldest twirling his 'sgetti