Spaghetti with Magic Tomato Sauce

Pasta with “magic sauce” looks like classic spaghetti with tomato sauce, but upon first bite, you’ll experience a rich, meatiness, followed by unctuous notes of pork fat that’s been emulsified right into the sauce. On-trend and fun, it’s an exciting, approachable way to turn traditional flavors upside-down with the use of a full fat ingredient. 

Ingredients

Procedure

Prep

1. Cook spaghetti (or bucatini if using) in lightly salted water just until al dente. Drain and reserve pasta cooking water. Briefly rinse noodles and toss with a small amount of olive oil. Portion into 4 equal 4-ounce portions and hold refrigerated for service.
2. Melt lard in skillet on medium-high heat. Add tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper and whisk to combine. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until tomato paste has darkened in color. Turn off heat and stir in tomato puree. Reserve for service.

Service

1. For each serving, heat 1/4 of the lard mixture on medium heat. Whisk in 3 tbsp pasta cooking water. Bring to simmer.
2. Mix 1 tbsp of the reserved cooking water and 6 tbsp Parmesan, mixing well to create a loose paste. Add Parmesan mixture to lard mixture; stir well to combine.
3. Transfer one portion of pasta to pan with lard sauce, add 1 1/2 tsp parsley, toss to blend with sauce. Add additional pasta water, a little at a time, to loosen sauce if necessary. Serve immediately, sprinkle with additional Parmesan.