Frankie’s Spuntino Tomato Sauce
I always thought tomato/spaghetti sauce was complicated. Well, it isn’t. It takes a long freaking time to make, but it honestly couldn’t be easier. Or cheaper. The hardest part is pronouncing it. This sauce is from Frankie’s in New York and it is the real deal.
Serving Size: 8-10 servings
Frankie's Spuntino Tomato Sauce
It's unbelievable easy to make your own amazing pasta sauce.
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 4 H & 15 MTotal time: 4 H & 30 M
Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil
- 13 whole garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 96-ounce can or four 28-ounce cans of Italian tomatoes
- 1 large pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Combine the olive oil and garlic in a large, deep saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring or swirling occasionally, until the garlic is deeply colored- striations of deep brown running through golden cloves- and fragrant. If the garlic starts to smell acrid or sharp or is taking on color quickly, pull the pan off the stove and reduce the heat.
- While the garlic is getting golden, deal with the tomatoes: Pour them into a bowl and crush them with your hands, pulling off hard stems and any oregano leaves.
- When the garlic is just about done, add the red pepper flakes to the oil and cook them for 30-60 seconds to infuse their flavor and spice into the oil. Dump in the tomatoes, add the salt, and stir well. Turn the heat up to the medium, get the sauce simmering at a gentle pace, not aggressively, and simmer for 4 hours. Stir it from time to time. Mother it a little bit.
- Check the sauce for salt at the end. The sauce can be cooked with meat at this point, or stored, covered, in the fridge for at least 4 days or frozen for up to a few months.
- Serve with Frankies Spuntino Meatballs.
Notes
Do not put oil in water when boiling pasta, instead, heavily salt the water, so that the pasta is infused with salt as it absorbs water.