Fresh Tomato Sauce & Garlic Basil Oil

posted by Jaden June 22, 2018

In this Scarpetta’s Spaghetti Recipe, you’ll learn how to make the world-famous pasta dish by Chef Scott Conant of Scarpetta’s Restaurant. The recipe includes their tomato pasta sauce and garlic and basil infused olive oil. It’s a simple recipe!

Scarpetta in New York City is most famous for its Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil.

People pay $24 for a serving.

Yes, that’s right: twenty-four dollars.

And we’re not talking about the family-style mound you’d find in a sticky-floored Italian joint. This is one of those fancy-restaurant, daintily plated serving sizes. If you twirl your fork three times, you’d get it all. Don’t believe me?

But people love it. Although I haven’t been to the restaurant myself, I’ve read the endless rave reviews and since there were too many variations for the recipe online, I just had to call the restaurant directly for the recipe.

And the secret to the famous Scarpetta’s Spaghetti its simplicity.

How to make Scarpetta’s Spaghetti Recipe

To make Scarpetta’s Spaghetti recipe, you’ll first work the tomato. Cut each tomato in half and scoop out the seeds with your fingers. You can use plum tomatoes or regular tomatoes, whichever is freshest. You want a smooth, intensely flavored sauce…and watery seeds don’t belong.

The Garlic Basil Oil has just a few ingredients – fresh basil, sliced garlic and chili flakes.

Infuse the ingredients in hot olive oil and let sit on stove for 20 minutes or more: 10 minutes on low-low-low heat and then 10 minutes off the heat. The longer you let it steep, the more flavorful the oil will be. You won’t use all of the oil – strain, discard the solids and refrigerate for a few days and use in other recipes. Do not store the garlic in oil at room temperature.

Just before serving, drizzle or toss the pasta with the Garlic Basil Oil.

Scarpetta’s Spaghetti Recipe from Scott Conant and Scarpetta Restaurant.

Chef Conant likes to use 20 ripe plum tomatoes (no canned). My adaptation includes canned tomatoes as well because I find the recipe works better. Tomatoes used for canning are picked at the peak of ripeness, and many times the fresh tomatoes I find at the market are just so-so. A blend of both fresh tomatoes and quality canned tomatoes provides perfect blend of tart and sweet. Feel free to use all fresh, all canned or a combination.

Don’t expect the usual sauce-heavy spaghetti. Conant’s recipe is light; the barely there sauce combined with the basil-garlic oil is so full of intense flavors, you don’t need to drown your pasta.

This recipe makes 1 pound dried pasta, enough to serve 6-8 people (though at Scarpetta, the serving size is half that!)

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 499 kcal

Author: Jaden

4 ripe organic tomatoes preferably plum tomatoes
12 ounces San Marzano or organic whole tomatoes canned
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
8 fresh basil leaves well washed and dried, stacked and rolled into a cylinder and sliced thinly crosswise into a chiffonade
1 pound spaghetti either high-quality dry or homemade

For the Basil-Garlic Oil:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 whole cloves garlic
10 whole fresh basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper flakes

Use a sharp vegetable peeler and with a gentle, back and forth sawing motion, peel the tomato skin. Tip: the sawing motion should be very slight, just a quick back and forth motion moving along tomato.
Cut the tomatoes in half and use your finger to flick out the seeds.
In a wide pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until quite hot. Add the fresh and canned tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and season lightly with the salt and pepper. (I always start with a light hand with the salt and pepper because as the tomatoes reduce, the salt will become concentrated.) Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes to soften. Then, using a potato masher, chop the tomatoes finely. Cook the tomatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened.
Taste and season with salt again. Remember, the pasta will cook in salted water, so the sauce should just be lightly seasoned. If the sauce is too tart (if your fresh tomatoes were not sweet or fully ripened), add a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the sauce.
(You can make the sauce, which yields about 2-3 cups, ahead of time. Refrigerate it for up to two days or freeze it for longer storage.)
While the tomatoes are cooking, make the basil-garlic oil. Heat a small saucepan over low heat with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves and pepper flakes. Keep the heat on low to allow the ingredients to warm slowly and release their flavors. When the garlic is lightly browned, turn heat off and let cool for 10 minutes. The longer you let the oil sit, the more infused the oil. Strain the oil, discarding the solids.
To cook the spaghetti, bring a large pot of amply salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente and drain, reserve a little of the pasta cooking water.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat, gently tossing the pasta and the sauce together with a couple of wooden spoons and a lot of exaggerated movement (you can even shake the pan) until the pasta is just tender and the sauce, if any oil had separated from it, now looks cohesive. (If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta cooking liquid to adjust it.) Remove the pan from the heat and toss the butter, basil and cheese with the pasta in the same manner (the pasta should take on an orange hue). Drizzle with just a bit of the basil-garlic oil on each plate (you might not use all of it).

Nutrition Facts

Scarpetta’s Spaghetti Recipe: Fresh Tomato Sauce and Garlic Basil Oil

Amount Per Serving

Calories 499 Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 21g 32%

Saturated Fat 5g 25%

Cholesterol 15mg 5%

Sodium 219mg 9%

Potassium 456mg 13%

Total Carbohydrates 63g 21%

Dietary Fiber 4g 16%