Chef notes
Actor and Italian food extraordinaire, Stanley Tucci, briefly lived in Florence with his family during his childhood. Over the course of that year, his sister Gina became best friends with a young girl named Mirca. Naturally, Tucci’s parents became friends with Mirca’s parents: Vittorio, who was a policeman, and his wife, Maria Rosa, who taught Tucci’s mother how to make tomato sauce.
Since dubbed Salsa alla Maria Rosa, the red sauce is a mainstay on the actor and author’s table. He serves it with penne, farfalle, ziti or any other long tubular pasta such as rotini or fusilli.
The process starts with cooking two types of fat (butter and olive oil) together and makes use of a classic mirepoix (diced carrot, onion and celery) for a rich depth of flavor. Essentially, he says, it’s the base of a bolognese sauce without the meat.
Canned whole plum tomatoes, fresh flat-leaf parsley and garlic are all present in this classic recipe, but Tucci says the addition of a little bit of butter, as well as making sure the vegetables are rendered down properly, is the key to making this sauce taste special.
To this day, Tucci says that his parents, Vittorio and Maria Rosa remain friends, talking on the phone throughout the year and visiting each other whenever they have the opportunity.
He adds that the sauce will stay nicely when stored in your freezer — though it might not last as long as the friendship it now represents.
