Secret Sauce 18 - Tony G

Hello and welcome to my kitchen. I am Tony Giambrone, a descendant of Italians on my father's side. Here is how I make red sauce. I wish I could say that it was a family recipe. Instead it borrows heavily from alt-comedian Eric Wareheim's Nonna Sauce, with some modifications and some key instructions on incorporating your sauce with the pasta. It is a great, easy, meatless meal to make for friends and family. I hope that it pairs well with the music I have selected, which starts with jazz to help those alliums simmer and lands with an italo-disco chef's kiss, traversing many records that I love to listen to while I cook in between. I hope you love it as much as I love you.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of your favorite pasta
• 1/2 cup high quality olive oil
• One large yellow onion
• One head of garlic with nice big cloves
• A couple of leaves of basil
• 2 large cans of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• Oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper
• A wedge of fresh parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Gather 4 to 6 friends at whoever’s house has the most comfortable kitchen.
2. If you drink alcohol, make a round of Americanos:
   Fill a short glass with ice. Add one part Campari, one part sweet Vermouth, and two parts soda water. Garnish with an orange peel. Give it a quick whirl around the rim of the glass before you twist it and drop it into the drink. Fragrance is half the battle.
3. Hit play on the mix that accompanies this recipe
4. Dice your onion and garlic (the whole damn head!)
5. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large sauce pan over very low heat. Add the garlic and a few basil leaves. Let it simmer for about ten minutes to infuse the garlic and basil into the oil. Be careful not to let the garlic burn! Stir often.
6. Remove the garlic and basil from the oil and set aside.
7. Turn the heat up to medium and add the onion. Simmer for another ten minutes until the onion is translucent and soft.
8. Add back in your garlic and basil as well as a pinch of oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste.
9. Add your tomatoes. Turn up the heat until the sauce starts to boil, then lower it to a gentle simmer. Start to gently crush the tomatoes against the side of the pot. Careful! They have a tendency to squirt their juices at you. Never wear a white shirt while you’re cooking sauce!
10. If you have a parmesan rind lying around for some reason, don’t be afraid to toss that in there for some added flavour.
11. Let the sauce simmer for at least an hour, until the tomatoes have broken down and the whole thing takes on a nice chunky but smooth consistency. Keep an eye on it and stir occasionally.
12. Cook your pasta in a big pot of salted water until it’s just below al dente.
13. Reserve a cup of pasta water.
14. Drain the pasta and add it back into the pot you cooked it in over low heat.
15. Add a generous amount of your sauce to the pot. Stir it heartily for about a minute, slowly adding a few splashes of pasta water, until the noodles are coated in the sauce.
16. Turn off the heat. Drizzle in some more olive oil, and grate some parmesan into it. Continue to stir until everything is combined.
    Serve with fresh basil and more fresh grated parmesan to garnish.
17. Consider serving with a side arugula salad, roasted vegetables, chicken thighs, eggplant parmesan… the list goes on! Mangia!