Bucatini Rafilina: A Little-Known Treasure from Naples
Bucatini alla rafilina is a pasta dish from Naples which uses bucatini – a long, thick spaghetti with a hole running through the middle. And the sauce is a simple dressing of cherry tomatoes and parsley with a pinch of chilli.
You won’t find this dish on any Neapolitan tourist menus. It’s a piatto di casa – a meal you cook at home. It focusses on flavour and speed. And it combines the most basic of ingredients into a quick comforting meal. In fact tomatoes, parsley and chillies all grow in gardens throughout Campania and you will find bucatini in most Neapolitan kitchen cupboards. So you can make bucatini alla rafilina at a moment’s notice.
The Name: Who Is Rafilina?
Rafilina isn’t an ingredient. And it isn’t a place either. In Naples, Rafilina is short for Raffaella. Maybe the cook who invented this dish was called Rafilina. Although the idea that a single person could ‘invent’ such a simple meal doesn’t seem likely.
More likely, this recipe took its name from an otherwise long forgotten nonna, who lovingly made it for her grandchildren. And they named it after her.
Many piatto di casa recipes have been passed down through generations. The recipes that survived the test of time are always the ones that tasted the best. The ones that don’t break the bank, are satisfying, and are quick to make. But it isn’t just the recipes that are passed down. They come with the name and in this case (I like to think) the memory of an otherwise forgotten Nonna Rafilina.
5 Simple Ingredients
The ingredients for bucatini alla rafilina couldn’t be simpler. Aside from from the bucatini, you can find them all in most Neapolitan gardens. All you need is some garlic, a pinch chilli flakes, a generous handful of parsley, some cherry tomatoes and of course bucatini pasta.
You could of course use spaghetti or linguine. But bucatini really makes a difference here. Some say that the hole lets air pass through, giving the dish a lighter feel. But that is likely a myth. Air cannot travel through a hole if it is full of sauce.
This long pasta helps intensify the flavour because the hole running through each strand helps to trap the sauce. Bucatini alla rafilina also holds its shape better and it has more of a bite than spaghetti.
Related Recipes and Links
If you’re interested in Neapolitan pasta traditions, then check out these recipes from Italy’s Campania region. Some of my favourites include:
- Paccheri allo Scarpariello: A Neapolitan pasta dish of Paccheri pasta tubes with a rich sauce of cherry tomatoes, garlic and chilli.
- Caprese Salad: A simple antipasto of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil with freshly cracked pepper, sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Zucchini a Scapece: a tangy Neapolitan dish of deep fried zucchini dish, marinated in white wine vinegar and mint, perfect for any meat or fish dish.
Buon appetito! 🇮🇹
More Campania Recipes
- Paccheri allo Scarpariello – large pasta tubes tossed with cherry tomatoes, basil, pecorino and white wine. A Neapolitan classic.
- Zucchini a Scapece – fried courgettes marinated in vinegar and mint. One of Naples’ most distinctive side dishes.
- Spaghetti alla Napoletana – Naples’ simplest pasta dish, built on ripe tomatoes, garlic and basil.
Bucatini alla Rafilina
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
- colander
- Chef Knife
- large shallow wide pan
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 4 tbsps fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 125 ml water
- 600 grams cherry tomatoes (halved and drained of the excess liquid)
- 400 grams Bucatini ((use a good quality Italian brand))
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, and cooked the bucatini for one minute less than the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and chilli and cook until the garlic has browned.
- Then add all the parsley with the cup of water (important to prevent the parsley from blackening) and cook for a few minutes.
- Then add the cherry tomatoes and salt to taste.
- Cook everything until the cherry tomatoes are cooked (but not soft).
- Then finally add the bucatini cooked al dente, along with a spoonful of the pasta water if the tomatoes are a little dry.
