From the “Captain” for his “Soldiers,” Spaghetti with Fresh tomato sauce and spicy sausage. Serves a large family.

While this is not an exact replica of the tomato sauce that Clemenza made in the Corleone family kitchen, it is a traditional Italian tomato sauce. A bit of heat is provided by the dried red pepper flakes, a bit of alcohol courtesy of the red wine, and a bit of meat for any “loyal Captain” of the family business.

Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
12-14 Roma tomatoes, stem cut off, cut into quarters
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 cup red wine
½ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ tsp. dried red pepper flakes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
3 large, fresh, hot Italian sausages in casings

Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat.

Add the olive oil to the pot. Then add the onion and garlic and stir. Sauté the onions and garlic just til the onions start to turn transparent and the garlic just starts to brown, about 3 minutes.

Add the quartered Roma tomatoes. Note: there is no need to peel and seed the tomatoes since the sauce will be pureed later.

Cook the onion, garlic and tomatoes until the tomatoes start to break down, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce until it is combined into the tomatoes. Let the sauce cook another 10 minutes.

Pour the red wine into the sauce, and then stir until it is thoroughly incorporated into the tomatoes.

Add the basil, oregano, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt and black pepper to taste. Continue to cook the sauce for another 15 minutes.

Pour the sauce into a blender. Puree the tomato sauce until it is smooth.

Return the pureed tomato sauce to the stockpot. Place the stockpot back on the stovetop and turn the heat down to medium-low and let the sauce simmer, partially covered. Note: if the sauce is too thick add additional red wine or water.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.

Cut one end of each sausage to open the casing. Squeeze the meat of the sausage out of the casing and into the hot skillet.

Cook the sausage meat in the skillet, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage pieces until they are browned and done, about 15 minutes.

Add the sausage pieces to the simmering tomato sauce. Continue to cook the tomato and sausage sauce, partially covered, throughout the day until dinner time.

Spaghetti
1, 2lb. package dried spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons salt
2 cups grated Parmesano-Reggiano cheese

Fill a large stockpot with fresh water. For a 2lb. package of spaghetti use 4 quarts of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and then add the olive oil and salt to the water.

Add the dried spaghetti to the boiling water and turn the heat down to a gently rolling boil. Regularly stir the spaghetti in the boiling water so that it will not stick. Cook the spaghetti until it is tender to the bite, about 12-15 minutes.

Drain the spaghetti and immediately turn it out into a large platter or serving bowl.

Spoon the tomato and sausage sauce over the spaghetti. Sprinkle 1 cup of the grated Parmesano-Reggiano over the top of the sauce.

“Clemenza,” the Captain, is to serve the first portion of his spaghetti to “The Godfather, Don Corleone.” Then pass the platter of spaghetti around the table with a side dish of the extra Parmesano-Reggiano.