Las Vegas Weekly

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Dan Rossi has a tough job. The executive chef at Scarpetta and DOCG—celebrity chef Scott Conant’s two Cosmopolitan restaurants—is tasked with re-creating Conant classics for Vegas diners, including those who may have sampled the same dish in New York or Beverly Hills. That’s a lot of pressure.

For example, there’s Scarpetta’s signature spaghetti, a simple yet sublime masterpiece of pasta, tomatoes, olive oil, cheese, basil and butter. “We’re known for making our pasta fresh, but the sauce is key here. You can make any pasta at home with this sauce,” Rossi says.

Scarpetta Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

15 Roma tomatoes

8 oz. canned San

Marzano tomatoes

1/4 cup garlic

(whole cloves)

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. chili flakes

2 tbsp. butter

2 oz. Parmigiano cheese

3 oz. basil (julienned)

salt to taste

Method:

Core and score the Roma tomatoes, blanch and shock, then peel. Cut the tomatoes in half and seed them. Pour 2 oz. olive oil into a sauce pot and add the tomatoes. Season with salt and a pinch of chili flakes.

In another pot, pour in the 3/4 cup olive oil, add the garlic and another pinch of chili flakes and place on low heat until garlic is light brown. While it’s cooking, smash the tomatoes with a potato masher. After 30 to 45 minutes, strain the garlic chili oil into the tomato sauce.

To serve, heat a sauté pan and add about 6 oz. of tomato sauce per person. Reduce the sauce, adjust the seasoning, and add 1/2 oz. butter. Add cooked spaghetti or other pasta to the sauce. Finish by blending in Parmigiano cheese, basil and a splash of olive oil.