Review: Fra Diavolo Pasta Sauce

Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil) is a spicy tomato sauce for pasta and seafood. Using a secret family recipe, I’ve added fresh habanero pods, basil, and extra virgin olive oil to craft an outrageously delicious 100% natural spicy pasta sauce.

There is also the legend of Michele Pezza, a famous Italian brigand leader who resisted the 1799 French occupation of Naples. Superstition invested him with the character of both a monk and a demon, giving rise to his nickname, Fra Diavolo.

Enjoy this sauce with your favorite pasta or seafood dish!

This is the second version of Lars’ Fra Diavolo sauce that I’ve tried. The first version I didn’t try until after Lars told me not to try it – he mentioned that the black pepper in the original recipe had totally taken over the sauce. So naturally, I tried it to see what the black pepper had done and sure enough, it was a black pepper sauce with a little tomato mixed in. It wasn’t bad, but it was clear that it was not the flavor that Lars was intending. So I shelved the review and waited for the revised recipe version to arrive.

Ingredients: tomato puree, crushed tomato (organic), red onion, tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil, basil, minced garlic, orange habanero chilies (fresh whole pods), extra coarse sea salt, turbinado sugar, coarse black pepper, spices

When the new Fra Diavolo arrived, I actually turned to the Ex to do the cooking for me. You see, one of the best dishes she makes is a killer chicken parmigana and I couldn’t think of a better platform for which to test the Fra Diavolo.

This sauce is as close to homemade as I’ve ever had come out of a jar. The tomatoes and other ingredients taste as though they were just picked from the garden. On the chicken parmigana, it added a very nice fresh flavor with just a hint of heat. And the heat does not build, so you’d be safe to serve this sauce to anyone in your family – even the littlest chilehead on the block. The peppers serve to enhance the freshness of the sauce. Give Fra Diavolo a try and enjoy a great pasta sauce from a true chilehead.

Csigi Chili Sauce
569 Blue Mountain Lake
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

Nick Lindauer: The Original Hot Sauce Blog