Scott Conant's Spaghetti Sauce

As far as I’m concerned, over that last decade at least, chef Scott Conant has continually sent gastronomic love letters to New York. His supple pockets of duck and foie gras ravioli and perfect coils of spaghetti and sauce at Scarpetta have sent me howling! I’ve yet to visit and surely be enchanted by his alchemic ventures in the Faustina kitchen at the Cooper Square Hotel but at a recent bazaar in its courtyard, Mr. Conant’s sauce was up for sale, 10 bucks for a small jar, made fresh that morning, and we were more than eager to try it at home. It wasn’t nearly enough to coat our glut of pasta but thankfully the recipe came with as well so we could make more. Although it calls for blanching 20 plum tomatoes and peeling off their skins and mashing them up later, I just went with what we already had in our cupboards, namely two 28 oz. cans of Redpack tomato puree although crushed tomatoes would work as well.

Here’s how it went for us: the olive oil we had went in first, brought to a very hot temperature and the puree followed. A few dashes of cayenne pepper were added, with some kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. After simmering down about 20-25 minutes, we let it cool and sit overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, we boiled a pound of pasta in salted water according to the directions on the box until just al dente, added the drained pasta (reserving about 1/2 cup or so of the pasta water) to the re-heated sauce, tossed around and finished off with a tablespoon of the best butter we had (Vermont Cheese Company), 6-8 basil leaves rolled up and cut on the bias for a festive chiffonade, and added in about ½ cup of parmesan-reggiano.

Buon appetito!

Next Magazine Review - Scarpetta

Scarpetta
355 West 14th Street (@ 9th Avenue)
212-691-0555
scarpettanyc.com

2:15 a.m., somewhere around 1996: I’m drunk at The Village Idiot. Flash forward to 2006: as 14th Street gentrifies with its neighboring sisters in ‘mo town, the lowly gin joint upgrades to Gin Lane, a fashionable big boy’s club. When my steak arrives, it’s only adequate. Dale DeGroff’s drinks are better. But everything is overpriced and I’ve the sneaking suspicion that the boys in question are really just playing dress up. Gin Lane goes down quicker than an olive in a blisteringly dry martini. Cut to present day: the marvelous Scarpetta has newly taken residence, and Scott Conant (Alto, L’Impero) is the master behind the Italian fare.

My foodist friend and I were seated in an intimate cozy corner, and from the onset we were simply agog. We ordered fine Classic Negronis ($12) straightaway, made with Bombay gin, vermouth, and Campari. Wholly traditional, it’s a delight to see Negronis popping up on menus all over the city. We are mad for them! Soprasetta bread arrived with extraordinary mascarpone butter, as did luscious eggplant and tomato caponata.

Vibrant Raw Yellowtail ($16) was duly enhanced by a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt. Fantastic! Tuna “Susci” ($16) with preserved truffles was also highly festive fish. An order of Burrata ($15), that staggering orb of mozzarella and cream with a soft middle was wonderfully paired with marinated eggplant.

We split our gloves applauding the supple pockets of Duck & Foie Gras Ravioli ($25), served in an unlawful butter sauce. The simple Spaghetti ($24) was also incredible, a perfect coil of homemade pasta with tomato and basil.

News struck that they had run out of the Hampshire Pork Chop ($28)! We opted for the Moist-Roasted Capretto ($28) instead, with peas and fingerling potatoes and an order of Creamy Polenta ($15) with truffled mushrooms. My pal loved the stewed goat more than I did, but as she pointed out, it was a much quieter dish than what we’d just experienced and naturally might seem a come down. However, we were in total agreement about the divine polenta, as well as our love of Scarpetta.

nextmagazine.com/eats