Francis Ford Coppola is brilliant. Not only does Chef Cimbasso love his movies, but his wines are to die for as well. And add to that, (according to his excellent biography, On The Edge, The Life & Times of Francis Coppola by Michael Goodwin and Naomi Wise), he was a tuba player in college – so what more is there to say? Back in the 1980s, Chef Cimbasso got to work under his Dad, Carmine, performing in the live accompanying orchestra when Abel Gance’s epic four hour silent film, Napoleon, came to Toronto. Coppola Sr. was good, but he was a really grouchy guy who was quite full of himself and he didn’t seem to fully trust his musicians. However, he had once been a flutist in the NBC Symphony under the volatile Toscanini, so maybe he was just giving back what he’d gotten!
This amazing spaghetti sauce recipe is found in the aforementioned biography, and is inspired by the scene from the first Godfather film where Clemenza teaches Mikey how to make it in case he ever has to cook for a bunch of the guys one night, but Chef Cimbasso suspects that it is the actual Coppola Family recipe. While making this, Chef always puts on his favourite Puccini arias CD and polishes off the remainder of the bottle of red wine that’s required for the recipe. This sauce is really, really good, and of course, like most spaghetti sauces, it’s even better the second day.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup strong red wine (preferably Sicilian Infierno) Chef Cimbasso has never seen or heard of this wine, and neither have any of his Italian friends. Chef would love to try an Amarone, but he’s too cheap to waste it just for cooking! Use a nice Chianti, (pronounced kee-YAN-tee), but leave out the liver and fava beans….fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh! (OK, wait. That’s not a Coppola movie!)
- one 28-oz. can of whole Italian (San Marzano) tomatoes
- one 6-oz. can tomato paste
- 1/4 cup fresh minced basil (or 1 tbsp. dried basil)
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1½ lb. mild Italian sausage, sliced
In a large pot, heat the olive oil gently over low heat. Add the garlic and onions, and cook until translucent. Sauté the sausage with the garlic and onions. According to the recipe, you should then remove the sausage to a plate before proceeding and then it should be added back in to the sauce just prior to the long simmering process. (However, Chef Cimbasso has had great success with slicing up the sausage and cooking it with the garlic and onions and just leaving it in without removing it.) Stir in the red wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add the whole tomatoes and tomato paste. Rinse remnants of the paste out of the can with water and add it to the pot. Stir in the basil, salt, and sugar. When the sauce comes to a light boil, add the sausage (if you didn’t just leave it in) and simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if sauce gets too thick (Remember to finish off what’s left of that bottle of wine while enjoying Franco Corelli singing “Recondita armonia” from Tosca.) During the last hour, correct seasonings and partly cover the pot. Serve over al dente spaghetti and then top with freshly grated Parmesan. Don’t forget to have a slice or two of rustic Italian crusty bread on the side and a nice Barolo for drinking!
Thinking of dessert afterward? Chef Cimbasso suggests resisting the temptation of immediately clearing the dining room table of dirty dishes and to stick with the Sicilian theme, so “Leave the mess. Serve the cannoli”, and afterward, make someone special “an offer they can’t refuse!”