The Blood of a King
In the Kitchen with Wells & Bruzzi
There is only one recipe that the two of us can rave about equally, considering it is the only one we have made “together”. Sort of. Jon (Wells) admittedly has some control issues in the kitchen, which he is working on.
But ever since the summer of 2022, we have been huge fans of The Bear, and with it, the infamous spaghetti dish that they rave about for nearly the entirety of the first season. Someone was kind enough to break the recipe down on Buzzfeed and it has been a staple in Jon’s house ever since. You start out by crushing five garlic cloves and adding them to a pan with half a cup of olive oil, a large handful of fresh basil, and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Fry that up until the basil leaves have wilted, then give it another minute to let all of the flavors really mix together. At this point your house will already begin to smell fantastic. Set aside to cool.
Next, your sauce. Both the show and the Buzzfeed recipe insist that you use San Marzano tomatoes. This brand can usually be found at Shoprite, Wegmans, or Trader Joe’s. We use the Crushed variety, to save time having to crush the tomatoes ourselves. One 28 ounce can should do the trick for a single serving of 2-3 people. We start to double up if we’re expecting more people. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and half a stick of unsalted butter and cook until the butter begins to brown. Once your butter is browned, add a medium yellow onion to the pot, sliced in half, sliced side down into the butter. You won’t be eating the onion with the sauce; it is just to lend the sauce its flavor. But if a small bit ends up breaking apart and getting lost in the mix, it’s a little added bonus. Let that fry up until the bottom of the onion is a nice golden brown, then, carefully add your tomatoes to the pot. Do yourself a favor and don’t wear white while performing this step. Give it a good mix, turn it down to Low, and let sit, covered, for about 25-30 minutes.
Once your oil mixture has cooled (doesn’t have to be room temp, just as long as it’s not piping hot anymore), you add it all to a blender or food processor or whatever you have, and blend for about 20 seconds until it’s smooth. Once your tomato timer has 10 minutes left, add the blended oil mixture and stir well. Let it cook the remaining 10 minutes uncovered.
Once your spaghetti is done boiling, add a half cup of pasta water to the sauce, combine, and enjoy!! Feel free to discard the onions in the pot. We usually keep a little extra fresh basil as a garnish. This sauce is packed with flavor, and the red pepper flakes in the oil give it a nice kick! Perfect for a night in on your own or for when friends (or co-authors) stop by.
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