Recipe: A Classic Spaghetti With Tomato-Red Wine Sauce

A CLASSIC SPAGHETTI WITH TOMATO-RED WINE SAUCE

"At least once a week, we do some version of this sauce. Salami and chile give the sauce boldness and heft. The sauce can be made several days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to three months.

Cooking salami, which was in most every home kitchen, is an old trick Italian cooks used to get the flavor of fully seasoned meat into a quick sauce. They didn't have to go to the expense of buying a pound of beef or pork, or take the time it would demand to be cooked through."

5 quarts salted water in a 6-quart pot
FOR THE SAUCE:
Good-tasting extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
Top half of 2 medium stalks of celery with leaves, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 ounces good-tasting Italian salami, cut into 1/4-inch dice (Genoa, Soppressatta or hard salami)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 generous tablespoons tomato paste
2/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 tightly packed cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1 generous tablespoon dried basil
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with their liquid, plus 1 14-ounce can, drained
FOR THE PASTA:
1 pound imported Italian spaghetti
1 generous cup freshly grated young Pecorino Toscano, Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Have the salted water for cooking the spaghetti boiling.

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:
Film a straight-sided 12-inch saute pan with oil and heat to medium high. Add the onions, celery and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Saute over medium high 5 minutes, or until the onion is golden.

Blend in the salami and hot pepper. Saute them 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, red wine and two types of basil. Stir as the wine boils down to almost nothing. Then add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pan. Bring the sauce to a lively bubble and cook until it is thick, 7 to 8 minutes.

Stir the sauce to keep it from sticking. Remove it from the heat, taste for seasoning and cover the pan. (The sauce can wait on the stovetop up to an hour. Bring it to a bubble before adding to the pasta.)

TO PREPARE THE PASTA:
Drop the pasta into the boiling water. Boil it until tender but still a little firm to the bite, stirring often. Drain it immediately in a colander. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce to a lively bubble. Add the drained pasta to the pan, and toss to thoroughly coat with the sauce, about 3 minutes. Turn the pasta into a serving bowl and toss with the cheese. Serve it hot.

Serves three or four as a main dish; six to eight as a first course
Source: Lynne Rossetto Kasper in the Knoxville News, June 10, 2007