Something Simple

She asked for
something simple

but even the basic things
are complex

the first time I made
her dinner it was orzo
soaked in tomato sauce

it was a red glop
with a flavor you couldn’t place
you wouldn’t want to place

she’ll never let me forget

so when she asks for
something simple

it better be the best damn
red sauce you can make

just pretend it was easy

and bring the cheese with you

Bucatini with Red Sauce

Every single person should have a good solid pasta with red sauce that they can whip up without thinking. It’s one of those fundamental dishes that has endless variations but is all about comfort and simple, straightforward cooking.

I’ve made this dish maybe 200 times now and it’s slightly different every time. I’ve evolved my red sauce after trying a lot of different famous chef recipes and having gone through every Italian cookbook I own. I’ve now reduced it to the most simple, fewest ingredients possible and its better then ever. Because there are so few ingredients its important that you use the best version of each of them. That means really good olive oil (Frankies), really good bacon or pancetta (IN BIG CHUNKS, NO SLICES), really good pasta (yeah, even dry pasta has grades — try a $7 box of imported Italian pasta and you’ll question what you’ve been eating your entire life), and obviously REAL Parmigiano Reggiano.

This looks like a lot of steps but it will come together quickly. The whole thing takes about 25 minutes. Don’t walk away from the stove.

1 28oz Can of Whole Peeled San Marzano Tomatoes
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Large Onion, diced
1 Cup of Bacon or Pancetta cut into Lardon or large cubes
1/2 Cup Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated plus more for the table
1 tbsp of olive oil plus more for drizzlin
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 lb of Bucatini or Spaghetti (not angel hair or thin spaghetti, it should be thick and toothsome)
1/4 chopped of whatever fresh herbs you can get. In winter its hard to find Basil, I love fresh Oregano and Thyme
1 tbsp of Butter
Salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add more salt then you think you should.
2. Empty the can of tomatoes into a large bowl and take each whole tomato and remove the thick stem end and discard. I know this sounds like a lot of extra work, but its worth it — the stem pieces dont cook down in the short time you cook the sauce and end up being hard to eat and unpleasant chunks. Once you’ve got through all the individual tomatoes, crush the whole bunch with your hands trying to create small bite size chunks. Keep it rustico.
3. Bring a wide pan with a high rim to medium heat (like a big frying pan or a dutch oven, but NOT a small sauce pan). Add all the bacon at once and stir ocassionally until a good deal of the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy about 5 minutes. You want a lot of the fat to render but not all of it, and you want them peices to be nicely browned but not blackened or dried out.
4. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon or spider to a paper towel and drain all but 1 tsp of the rendered fat into a heat proof cup. I usually save this fat in the fridge for another occasion — its fun to make up occasions to use rendered bacon fat.
5. Add the olive oil and warm over low heat.
6. Toss in all the garlic and cook very slowly, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden and crisp all around (but not black) about 2 minutes.
7. Toss in the onion and a dash of salt and stir trying to scrape up all the browned bits of bacon. Cook until the onion is translucent and starting to brown at the edges, about 4 minutes.
8. Turn the heat to high and add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds or until you can REALLY smell them but they arent burned at all.
9. Add all the tomatoes at once and stir vigrously, scraping up any pieces and combining all the ingredients. Add half of the chopped herbs and about 2tbsp of the cheese. Continue stirring constantly and cooking over high heat until it all comes to a strong boil. Reduce the heat while you cook the pasta.
10. Toss the pasta into the boiling water and bring back to a boil as quickly as possible. Cook 1 minute less then package directions for Al dente. When it comes out of the water it should be REALLY al dente but fully cooked.
11. At this point the sauce should have reduced a bit but not changed color. It should still be bright red but most of the liquid should be gone. Take 1/2 cup of water (with a measuring cup, don’t burn your hands) out of the pasta pot and add to the sauce. Drain the pasta and add directly to the pot of sauce.
12. Toss in the cooked bacon, the rest of the cheese, the butter and the herbs and use tongs to coat the pasta fully with the sauce. If you’ve done your job right, there should be exactly the right amount of sauce to cling to every noodle and not more.
13. Use the tongs to transfer to big bowls. Grate more cheese on top and drizzle with olive oil. Bring the cheese and the grater with you to the table.