Arrabbiata Sauce – Dean & DeLuca Version

One of my New Year resolutions was to have dinner at least once a month with the J family. Both of our families have very busy schedules and it can be tough to make them mesh enough to get together for a meal. Well, nothing like waiting for the last minute to get together in February! Last night we shared a simple Leap Day meal of pasta, breadsticks and salad. I also made brownies but I forgot to serve them (I hang my head in shame). I am going to admit that I decided to serve this pasta sauce because I knew I could pull it all together in a matter of minutes. It takes a while to simmer, but a simmering sauce is easy to watch over when you are chatting with friends and watching your kiddos play together.

Little one's new favorite toy - a globe!

The original recipe calls for whole, peeled, plum tomatoes. After simmering for a while you are supposed to run the tomatoes through a food mill and then return the sauce to a simmer. I used to have a food mill. Oddly enough, it was a kitchen tool I lusted after in college. After having it for a year, I hardly ever used it. I gave it my dad to use when he cans food. I’m not sure if he still has it. I usually see him mashing his tomatoes through a large metal cone using a wood muddler. I found that a can of crushed tomatoes or pureed tomatoes, depending on the brand, have the same consistency as tomatoes that have gone through a food mill. A can of crushed tomatoes is cheaper than whole tomatoes and it ends up saving me a few dishes at the end of the night.

The type of pasta you serve this sauce over is up to you. A larger, more substantial pasta would be a good choice, but you could really use anything you have in the pantry. A good parmesan style cheese is a lovely pairing as well, but I like to top this sauce with feta. I think it gives the sauce a more complex flavor.

Cookbook confession. I hardly ever use this cookbook. In fact, most of the recipes in the cookbook intimidate me. I don’t feel like I’m fancy enough to eat the food described inside. It’s silly, I know. But I refuse to give this cookbook up. It reminds me of the times that I visited New York. I loved going to Rockefeller Center, seeing the Dean & DeLuca Café and feeling like I was ‘in’ New York. This cookbook is at times the souvenir of those trips. In all reality most of the recipes are simple, the descriptions of ingredients are lovely and most of the ingredients are easy to find. I’m not sure if I will ever fully delve into this cookbook, but I know it will grace my shelves for years to come.

Enjoy!

38oz. crushed tomatoes

¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
¾ tsp. crushed red peppers
1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 T. fresh oregano (or 1 tsp. dried oregano)
1 lb. pasta

Mix tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and oregano (if using dried) in a heavy sauce pan. Simmer for 45 minutes until the olive oil incorporates into the sauce.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Toss sauce with pasta. Serve topped with Parmigian-Reggiano and oregano (if using fresh).

Adapted from The Dean & DeLuca Cookbook – David Rosengarten with Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca