This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten’s latest cookbook “Go-To-Dinners”

• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil – I use Ina’s favorite, Olio Santo from California
• 6 oz. pancetta, diced
• 1-1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 2 tsp. garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, crushed
• 1/2 cup dry red wine, such as Chianti (see comment)
• 1 (14 oz.) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes (I had a 28 oz. can so I just used it all)
• 1-1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 lb. dried spaghettoni (thicker than spaghetti) ot bucatini which is one of my favorite pastas
• 1 cup Pecorino cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned, plue extra for serving

Fill a large pot with water, add 2 tbsp. of salt and bring to a boil.

Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta and saute 5 to 7 minute, until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions and saute for 10 minutes, until starting to brown. Add the reserved pancetta, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the liquid has almost entirely evaporated. Add the tomatoes and sugar, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper and taste for seasonings.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes less than al dente, according to package directions. With tongs, transfer the pasta to the pot with the sauce, bringing some of the pasta water with it. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring and adding more pasta water as needed to make a loose sauce. Off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup of the Pecorino and the 1/4 cup basil and toss; taste for seasonings. Transfer to serving bowls, sprinkle with the remaining Pecorino and more basil and serve with a nice glass of Chianti and some crusty bread.

COMMENT: A Chianti wine is any wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany. Historically it was associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco. This is what I was familiar with as I worked on my undergraduate degree many years ago. Everyone knew there was to be an Italian meal when this bottle was present. However, now the “basket” is only used by a few makers as most Chianti is now bottled in more standard shaped wine bottles. In 1932 the Chianti area was redrawn and divided into seven sub-areas. I bought one bottle Chianti Classico (which displays the black rooster on the neck of the bottle) and another from Chianti Rufina. I am still searching for one with a straw basket!

Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com