Michael Symon's Live to Cook_ Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen - Michael Symon [76]
It’s that piece of the puzzle that I’d first recognized when I returned from culinary school and got a job with Mark Shary at Players: Good restaurants are families. I’m really lucky to have a great family in Lola and a business that grows so that Derek can take the reins at Lola, and Matthew can run Lolita, and Frankie Ritz can manage the Detroit restaurant, and Cory Barrett, Lola pastry chef, can open his own pâtisserie.
I grew up in a great family that loves cooking and food and Liz and I continue to live among that family: Mom’s still in the restaurant working several days a week and Dad does the books, and Pap recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday at Lolita. And I continue to live within the restaurant with a family that continues to grow. I love you all.
YIA YIA’S SUNDAY SAUCE
Yia Yia, my maternal grandmother, made this exact sauce and it’s the base for several dishes in this book, including Italian Braised Beef with Root Vegetables and Pappardelle with Pig’s-Head Ragù. But of course it’s fantastic just served on pasta and topped with torn fresh basil.
Yia Yia was a magical woman. Born in southern Italy, she married my Papou, a Greek man, and in the Greek community where he lived he was ostracized for marrying an Italian. So Yia Yia decided to learn how to speak, read, and cook Greek. When she was ready, Papou invited all his Greek friends to a feast she’d prepared. She made Greek food better than the Greeks and because of this, they welcomed both of them back into the community. It’s something that has been reinforced over and over for me: food’s power to bring people together.
This red sauce reflects her Neapolitan heritage, and it uses plum tomatoes grown in San Marzano, a town outside Naples. San Marzanos are the best available; their natural sweetness makes them especially good for tomato sauces, and they are the only tomatoes used in true Neapolitan pizzas. As for all tomato-based dishes, use a stainless steel or nonreactive pan.
What makes this sauce so good is the long, slow cooking time, which allows it to develop a complex flavor. It shouldn’t simmer; there should just be a bubble rising to the surface every now and then. Meaty beef bones add more depth and complexity. (If you have beef stock, you can add two cups of it in place of the bones.) My cousins and I used to get in trouble for dipping bread in the sauce while it was cooking—all day long, how can you resist?—until Yia Yia started making double batches to accommodate everyone tasting it throughout the day. I have such great memories of eating it this way, that I encourage it at my house.
This sauce is chunky with abundant tomato and sliced garlic. Depending on what you’re using this for, it can be served as is (over a very thick hearty pasta or as part of a braising liquid). But if you were to use it for an angel hair or as a sauce for sautéed veal, you would probably want to purée it in a blender until it’s uniformly smooth. This sauce freezes well, so you can make big batches, portion it into smaller containers, and freeze it for when you need it.
Makes 2 quarts
¼ cup olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt, or more to taste
2 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes, with their juice
1 cup dry white wine
2 pounds meaty beef bones
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan or large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the