Restaurant-Caliber Pizza from a Home Oven
Kneading Conference, July 25, 2013, Skowhegan, Maine
Andrew Janjigian, Associate Editor, Cook’s Illustrated Magazine
Cooked New York-style Sauce
Yield: sauce for 4 12″ pies, or 2 18″ x 13″ sheet pan pies.
1 28-ounce can unsalted whole peeled plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium garlic clove
1 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch red pepper flakes
1 oil-cured anchovy, rinsed and mashed with fork (optional)
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt
1 medium onion, peeled and split in half
2 six-inch sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached
1. Place tomatoes and their juice in the bowl of a food processor, blender, or hand blender and pulse until coarse but uniform, 5-10 seconds. Set aside.
2. Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, anchovy paste (if using) and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil sprigs, onion halves, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting, and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 1/2, about 1 hour. Remove basil sprigs and onion halves. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.