Inspired by a post in this thread, I decided to try to make the pasta sauce recipe described in The Godfather movie. Admittedly, I did make a couple of changes–I added a little basil and oregano, and I made it in a slow cooker instead of on the stovetop (note that I did cook the meat first before adding it)–but the basic recipe is there. It’s still simmering in the cooker, and it smells and tastes great. Looking forward to enjoying it in a while.
Has anybody else ever tried the Godfather Pasta Sauce? How did it turn out? Did you vary the recipe; and if so, how?
I know there is supposed to be some miles-wide difference between tomato sauces, but to me it’s all the same. Yes, I like taking the time to make it ‘right’, but it honestly doesn’t matter to me. At all. I’m as happy with stuff out of a jar.
It’s a pretty basic home-made sauce that was used for eons before there were jars of Prego and Ragu in the stores. Grandma used to simmer it on the stove in a big iron pot all day. It can be toyed with endlessly - add basil and oregano, more garlic, etc. I’ve made it and found it delicioso, with the touch of red wine. You really do need a little sugar to take the edge off the tomatoes. We are used to the smooth and sweet Prego, so I don’t make it very often.
I thought you “browned” garlic by lightly frying it in olive oil. Not getting how you brown it otherwise. Or are you just saying they fry it, but not enough to get brown.
A little tongue-in-cheek – this was a script revision suggested to Puzzo by vaguely-connected people - he had originally set down “First, you brown some garlic,” but apparently this was a bit too effete to stand. You fry that shit.
28 oz can diced tomatoes
Good dollop of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
13 oz can tomato paste
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 lb sausage meat
Good dollop of red wine (but not that good a dollop; you need some wine to drink with your meal)
2 tablespoons sugar
I used a slow cooker, so I just added everything but the meat and oil to that. The raw garlic would cook with everything else for a few hours.
Then I put a skillet over a medium heat and put the olive oil in the skillet. I cooked the meat in the skillet until it was fully cooked, then added it to the slow cooker. It’s been doing now about three hours, and looks about ready anytime.
That probably works fine, but I think part of the subtext of the scene is that it’s not a “recipe”–it’s a technique, a tradition, something you learn to do rather than follow directions for.
Do you think it would work if I just took out the meat? Or should I reduce some of the other ingredients as well? Or maybe I could try some veggie meat substitute? Hm.
Kyla, if the sausage meat specified is Italian sausage, you’ll need to add a little fennel and maybe a bit more garlic or red pepper flakes to make up for taking it out.
I’ve long made a similar sauce. I punch mine up with red pepper flakes and half an onion (diced). And like in Goodfellas, the best meat mix is veal, beef, and pork.
I agree with the additional fennel, red pepper flakes and garlic. Having said that, if I need to make a dish that’s traditionally meaty without meat, I tend to substitute really good portabella or crimini mushrooms. The flavor and texture comes across as ‘meaty’, especially when cooked with other ingredients. Given a choice, I’d much prefer the mushrooms over the ‘ground-meat-substitute’ stuff in the grocery store.
Yeah, I just got around to watching The Godfather for the first time a couple weeks ago, but I learned how to cook form my Italian grandmother; that’s just how you make tomato sauce.