In this Scarpetta’s Spaghetti Recipe, you’ll learn how to make the world-famous pasta dish by Chef Scott Conant of Scarpetta’s Restaurant. The recipe includes their tomato pasta sauce and garlic and basil infused olive oil. It’s a simple recipe!
Scarpetta in New York City is most famous for its Spaghetti with Tomato and Basil.
People pay $24 for a serving.
Yes, that’s right: twenty-four dollars.
And we’re not talking about the family-style mound you’d find in a sticky-floored Italian joint. This is one of those fancy-restaurant, daintily plated serving sizes. If you twirl your fork three times, you’d get it all. Don’t believe me?
But people love it. Although I haven’t been to the restaurant myself, I’ve read the endless rave reviews and since there were too many variations for the recipe online, I just had to call the restaurant directly for the recipe.
And the secret to the famous Scarpetta’s Spaghetti its simplicity.
How to make Scarpetta’s Spaghetti Recipe
To make Scarpetta’s Spaghetti recipe, you’ll first work the tomato. Cut each tomato in half and scoop out the seeds with your fingers. You can use plum tomatoes or regular tomatoes, whichever is freshest. You want a smooth, intensely flavored sauce…and watery seeds don’t belong.
The Garlic Basil Oil has just a few ingredients – fresh basil, sliced garlic and chili flakes.
Infuse the ingredients in hot olive oil and let sit on stove for 20 minutes or more: 10 minutes on low-low-low heat and then 10 minutes off the heat. The longer you let it steep, the more flavorful the oil will be. You won’t use all of the oil – strain, discard the solids and refrigerate for a few days and use in other recipes. Do not store the garlic in oil at room temperature.
Just before serving, drizzle or toss the pasta with the Garlic Basil Oil.
Scarpetta's Spaghetti Recipe: Fresh Tomato Sauce and Garlic Basil Oil
Ingredients
- 4 ripe organic tomatoes preferably plum tomatoes
- 12 ounces San Marzano or organic whole tomatoes canned
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 8 fresh basil leaves well washed and dried, stacked and rolled into a cylinder and sliced thinly crosswise into a chiffonade
- 1 pound spaghetti either high-quality dry or homemade
For the Basil-Garlic Oil:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 whole cloves garlic
- 10 whole fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper flakes
Instructions
- Use a sharp vegetable peeler and with a gentle, back and forth sawing motion, peel the tomato skin. Tip: the sawing motion should be very slight, just a quick back and forth motion moving along tomato. Cut the tomatoes in half and use your finger to flick out the seeds.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat until quite hot. Add the fresh and canned tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and season lightly with the salt and pepper. (I always start with a light hand with the salt and pepper because as the tomatoes reduce, the salt will become concentrated.) Cook tomatoes for a few minutes so soften.Crush tomatoes in the pan using a potato masher. Continue cooking until tomatoes are tender and sauce has thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Taste and season lightly with salt again, keeping in mind the pasta will be plenty salty. If the sauce is too tart because your fresh tomatoes were not super ripe, add a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.(You can make the sauce, which yields about 2-3 cups, ahead of time. Refrigerate it for up to two days or freeze it for longer storage.)
- While the tomatoes are cooking, make the basil-garlic oil. Heat a small saucepan over low heat with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves and pepper flakes until the garlic is lightly browned. Keep the heat on low to allow the ingredients to warm slowly and release their flavors. Turn heat off and let cool for 10 minutes. The longer you let the oil sit, the more infused the oil. Strain the oil, discarding the solids.
- To cook the spaghetti, bring a large pot of amply salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until just shy of al dente and drain, reserving a little of the pasta cooking water.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and cook over medium-high heat, gently tossing the pasta and the sauce together using a pair of wooden spoons and a lot of exaggerated movement (you can even shake the pan) until the pasta is just tender and the sauce, if any oil had separated from it, looks cohesive. (If the sauce seems too thick, add a little pasta cooking liquid to adjust it.)
- Remove pan from the heat and toss the butter, basil and cheese with the pasta in the same manner (the pasta should take on an orange hue). Drizzle with just a bit of the basil-garlic oil on each plate (you might not use all of it).
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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So we put the unsalted butter in the very end of the process? Stir them until it melting out?
Iām married to an Italian. His mother cooked authentic Sicilian food so trying this was a bit nerve wracking for me to do. He LOVES this sauce. Weāve made this with Lobster Raviolis and it was equally amazing! Used very little salt since the seafood takes care of that. With spaghetti simply delicious. From start to finish to table less than an hour, perfect for during the week. So glad I found this recipe.
I thought this was great! I only had fresh tomatoes, which I didnāt peel. Ā No fresh basil, so I used dried, and almost almost burned the garlic for the oil… oh and I only had angel hair pasta…Ā
was a bit sticky but it was very tasty!! Will do again when I have fresh basil and better pasta.Ā
Thanks for posting this.
I heard about this amazing sauce on Marc Maronās WTF podcast and wanted to cook it.
Tried a recipe twice that wasnāt well written, confusing about the steps and quantitiesĀ
Too much chilling
Followed yours and got the correct result
(Now I adapt it to our personal tastes)
KarlĀ
Thanks so much Karl! jaden
Simple is almost ALWAYS the best! Ā Thanks for sharing this lovely simple, rustic, delicious recipe! Ā I almost felt like I was in Italy when I made this! Ā The beautiful fresh, juicy tomatoes bursting with flavour, the fragrant basil leaves picked straight off my sun kissed plants, the smell garlic infusing the kitchen as it simmered softly in the oil! Ā WOW! Ā Incredible! Ā The addition of the butter gives a very, light, creamy flavour to the sauce! Ā Loved this sauce! Ā Will make it over and over, for always! Ā Thank you!
Thanks so much Cher! Jaden
You haven’t been to the restaurant and they simply provided the recipe to you over the phone?Ā
Sorry, I’ve been and I also tried your recipe and they aren’t in the same realm. Chef Scott Conant has prepared this dish on TV several times, and one thing clearly missing from your recipe from a flavor and visual perspective, is butter.Ā
Scarpetta’s PR agency contacted me in 2009 asking for a feature, and provided the recipe via email with permission to reprint.
Delicious, used fresh tomatoes, not skinned or seeded, next time Iāll use a bit more garlic. My carb overload for the week but weāll worth it. IĀ
Thanks so much!
This recipe was so much work! I’m not sure what I did wrong but my sauce just didn’t seem that much more flavorful than any bottled red sauce from the store. It took hours to prep and make and created such a mess in the kitchen. I will never make this again! I will however make the infused olive oil and maybe use it for dipping bread. BTW, the ingredients list says 6-8 whole garlic cloves for the oil, but the picture shows sliced garlic. Would the flavor change if you slice the garlic?
Hi Shilpa – Slicing the garlic produces more garlicky flavor. I’m a big fan of garlic…so I slice!
āāļø Yes you’re suppose to chop or slice the garlic. And no shit chopping your garlic intensifies the flavor. No one has EVER since the beginning of time has just thrown hole cloves into a tomato sauce . How the hell did it take you two hours just to chop a little garlic, basil, and throw it in a pot of tomatoes?! Yikes!
Hi Jaden. Wonderful recipe you have shared. I have made it last Sunday. It was made so tasty and delicious. Brilliant to use with lots of fresh plum tomatoes. It made the recipe very delicious, fresh and light.
Where does the butter come into play.
It’s in the last step.
Italian food is not something I make a lot, and I prefer cream base pasta instead of tomato base…BUT this recipe has made me a fan. I made it exactly as the recipe says, but I’ve added prawns. I simply love the sauce. I keep on wondering why it was slightly sweet when the recipe does not have any at all. I enjoyed to the last bite and thanks Jaden for sharing the recipe. It’s now part of my favourite dishes.
This sounds really interesting! Has anyone tried it with other types of pasta; I wanted to give it a go with some wholewheat penne but I am concerned that the pasta might not be delicate enough to work well with the basil oil.
This recipe is DELICIOUS! Can’t say this enough. Such a nice break from all the jarred varieties. Only thing I did differently was to strain the basil garlic olive oil directly into the sauce and let that simmer for about an additional 10 minutes.
Also, I’ve tried it with both fresh and canned tomatoes, and let me tell you, brother (and sister), unless the fresh tomatoes are directly from your own garden (i.e., really tasty), it is not worth the extra effort. The tomatoes at my local markets are rarely very good, so I use a single 28 oz can of the San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes (along with their juices) for my sauce and it works brilliantly.
Adults and kids both loved it. Now officially in my rotation. SteamyKitche, you are RAD!
this looks to be a wonderful recipe! love the photos and everyone’s review of it is glowing with praise. can i ask though, if i can replace the freshly grated parmesan with processed parmesan? here in the philippines, freshly grated parmesan is quite a bit more expensive than the pre-grated parmesan. thank you in advance for your response!
Yes of course!
Made this tonight and, wow, the infused olive oil changed pasta forever for me.. Thanks!!
I made this for dinner last night and it was fantastic! Thank you.
Looks yummy… great photos taken , will try today… thanks.
Just got this recipe from Gojee…delicious!So my husband and i love garlic, so instead of draining the infused olive oil i mashed the garlic and threw it all in the pasta. It was fantastic! I have my husband rate all of my recipes and this is tied with my fillet mignon. Thank you fot this amazing recipe (and the gorgeous photos)!
Looks divine. Thanks for sharing:)
This is the most complete version of this recipe I’ve found online, thanks for that! Most of the others are incorrect, miss details, or don’t include the infused EVO.
Any particular homemade spaghetti recipe you like?
Thank you so mucho for this fantastic, easy, powerful taste recipe. I tried it last night to pet myself, and I got a resound acclamation !!!!
hi there…
thanks for posting the recipe, i’ll try to make it at my jome…
i’m from indonesia but i love italian foods…
i wanna ask,, in indonesia there’s no Basil leaf, so can i change into another leaf???? or is it okay if i not use basil leaf?
OMG! This sauce is to die for. I agree it is labor intensive but well worth the effort.
My husband is a foody and has always has suggestions to improve any sauce I’ve made … well not this time … he said it was absolutely delicious and he wouldn’t want me change a thing.
Wow! This is the best pasta I ever had! And I made it! I used Anne Burrell’s pasta dough recipe. I made to a t , exept I double the sauce and add some of the oil to the sauce (as opposed to adding it to the plate). Supple, velvety, rich, amazing! It’s labor intensive, but worth it! How can I go back to store bought pasta? I’m ruined forever…thanks for the post.
This is a fantastic recipe. I used Romas fresh from my garden. The garlic and basil were also from my garden. A simple yet very flavorful recipe. Loved the addition of the infused olive oil. Perfect with a salad and crusty bread. Definitely a keeper.
Thanks Lis! We love this recipe and grow tons of basil just for this reason alone š
Delicious spaghetti .. Very nice photos.. Good instuction
I did everything pretty much as is described above, except that I tossed the basil, red chilli flakes and garlic pods back into the sauce, after straining it, I thought it helped cut the sweetness of the tomatoes I used. We love our spice, so I used about 3 to 4 tablespoons of red chilli flakes in the course of cooking (in the sauce and a bit more in the oil preparation), as well. Turned out awesome.
Awesome website SteamyKitchen!
this is the best spaghetti recipe out there!
It taste good and also remind me of vacations in Italy.
When i ordered spaghetti it was without tomato but now i understand why it taste so good because of the olive oil.
It’s simple but very tasteful.Even the kids loves it.
Thnx
OMG! This turned out so good! The recipe is a keeper. The best spaghetti I ever had. And feel really good that its homemade!
Thanks so much!
Conant says he pours the Basic-Garlic oil into the sauce. He doesn’t drizzle it over the pasta at the end.
“Strain that oil, take your tomato sauce off the heat, and stir the oil in.”
See http://tinyurl.com/ye8z2qb
The garlic-basil oil is real wonderful and flavourful! It gives the spaghetti the ‘omph’ effect!
Thanks! It also makes great salad dressing base, just add some vinegar.
i just made this just now and i must tell you that this recipe is incredibly delicious! best spaghetti i have ever had. i used all marzano canned tomatoes. that basil-garlic oil is wonderfully intense in flavor. thanks a lot for this recipe!
if i use canned san marzano tomato’s, how much do i use in lieu of fresh. We don’t have fresh available right now that are decent.
thank you…..a friend made this dish last night at book club and it was amazing!
Hi there! I’d use 2 12-ounce cans of canned tomatoes for the recipe if you don’t have fresh.
Watch this recipe featured on Alton Brown’s “Top 10 Best Comfort Foods” show last night on the FoodNetwork and had to find the recipe today!! Should have known google would lead me right to my favorite food blog of all time for the answer!
Thank YOU!
Thank you sooo much for the recipe, both you and the chefs at Scarpetta! It turned out great!
One sure fire outstanding recipe in my repertoire now!
It’s the garlic specifically that’s dangerous to store in oil (not the type of oil) – after filtering, keep in your refrigerator, but make sure you use it rather quickly!
i really love your site!
have tried a lot of your recipes and they’re all good! š
will try to get a hold of your cookbook one of these days.
read the link about garlic in oil…
thanks for the info!
i’ve occasionally done that and didn’t know it was a no-no!
how about used corn oil?
after filtering, is it okay to store it at room temp or should
i place it on the fridge?
Scott Conant himself demonstrated this recipe on “No Reservations” a few months ago (the Techniques Special- such a great episode!), but this time instead of just drizzling some of the infused oil onto the pasta right before serving, he added the entire infusion into the tomato sauce before adding the pasta. I can imagine how much more intense those flavors become when doing so! Have you tried adding all the infused oil into the sauce?
I haven’t, but I’ve used the infusion in salad dressing. Leftover sauce combined with chicken stock makes a wonderful soup base (I’ve done w/sausage, celery, carrots w/lg piece of toasted bread on top drizzled some of the oil on top just before serving)
When do you add the basil oil to the sauce?Ā
The very last step – drizzle a little of the oil over the pasta.
I am going to give this recipe a try. I really enjoy all the high quality photos that have been included. It truly helps a person like me successfully cook a recipe by following directions with wonderful photos.
I made this over the weekend with my mom’s home grown heirloom tomatoes and with such simple ingredients, it was very tasty! I was very glad the dish looked like your pictures and before even tasting it, I knew it would be good and I was not disappointed!
After reading all the reviews I ran out and got fresh tomatoes and made this last night. The reviews were right on! Excellent! I recommend drizzling more oil than you think you need on the top at the end. It’s so flavorful! Even my 3 year old grandson complimented me on it–I guess he’s a garlic fan!
Wonderful recipe Jaden…made it last night…brilliant to use with lots of fresh plum tomatos hand. Light, fresh, delicious!
Yum!!
Looks yummy. I like fresh tomato sauce. Must be worth it.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was just amazing. I’m 20 weeks pregnant and have been craving spaghetti with tomato sauce like it’s going out of style. This is the first time that my craving has been fulfilled. I have a feeling I’ll be making this a few more times before this baby is born. Thanks for another great dinner!
I just made this for dinner last night (with a few modifications based on what I already had at home) and it was delicious and very easy to make. http://iflipforfood.blogspot.com/2010/01/spaghetti-with-fresh-tomato-sauce-and.html Thanks for being such a good recipe sleuth!
I just made this for dinner last night (with a few modifications, based on what I already had at home) http://iflipforfood.blogspot.com/2010/01/spaghetti-with-fresh-tomato-sauce-and.html, and it was really delicious and easy. Thanks for being such a great recipe sleuth!
Este plato tiene mi apellido “Scarpetta”… ĀæPorquĆ© se llama asĆ?
Scarpetta is the name of the restaurant that the chef works at http://www.scarpettanyc.com/
I made this tonight for me and my husband. Pretty good! though wouldn’t pay $24.00 a serving for it. Hubby says good enough to make again. š
Jaden,
This is the Italian equivalent of your noodles:
Garlic Scallion Noodles
and everything is better with butter!
YES~ everything better with buttah. ~j
Amazing how some simple ingredients can equate to glorious.
Because we cannot really get good tomatoes this time of year in England, so i roasted the plum tomatoes in the oven for 30 minutes on 180 degrees to intensify the flavor then added them to the canned chooped tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients, plus a small pinch of sugar and cooked the sauce till it was nice and thick, P.S i think roasting the tomatoes in the oven made the sause even more intense in flavour IMO.
i do a similar recipe and i actually made it last night. i used canned whole or crushed tomatoes and agree that you can rarely find a nice fresh one these days. i sautee a small onion, small dice in olive oil, add garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, the tomatoes with the seeds and the juice from the can. i use my emersion blender to puree it, leaving a little texture in it. i reduce it down then adjust seasoning, add fresh or dried basil to taste and serve over pasta that i’ve tossed in a mix of butter and olive oil.. so I’ll have to try that infused oil for sure! thanks jaden! as always you make me hungry!
Question- If you used the canned whole tomatoes like you suggested as a possibility as well, do you cut the tomatoes and take the seeds out or throw in the entire can when the pan is hot? Did half canned half fresh and I have the seeds all over the place.
@Nancy – I used the entire can WITHOUT scooping out the seeds. I’ve also done the recipe with a can of crushed tomatoes too. Both are fine.
I just ate a full meal but, thanks to your gorgeous photo, you’ve got me hungry this dish. I work in an Italian Restaurant and get my fill of pasta, but this recipe has me thinking it’s time to whip this number up pronto. Yum!
Yummy! I made this last night but stuck to the original recipe and tweaked one or two things around like using angel hair pasta and chopping the tomatoes (after taking out seeds and skin) and it was soooo good! I roasted some chicken with basil and cut that and put on top of pasta.
very cool recipe! I’m going to have to try it one of these days. I love a simple pasta recipe, as I just posted a recipe for penne arrabiata on my blog. wonderful photos
I agree with Rachelle (12.28.09)– the GMA photo is downright unappetizing! Your photos look fantastic, as usual. Wish I’d found this recipe before I made my farfalle with smoky tomato sauce tonight.
My husband and I have made this twice. It is wonderful! The first time it was exactly like the recipe. The second attempt my husband suggested adding some ground creole sausage. I was so busy with the sausage that I forgot the basil oil — it was still fabulous! A total keeper.
Hello, I could taste it from here! Yum…. Thanks for sharing.
Delizioso! Love this. The infused oil is brilliant in this dish!
That looks DELICIOUS! Your photos are amazing. I end up leaving nose prints on my monitor.
(Gave the wrong link in my last comment but don’t see how to delete it….sorry for the duplicate.)
That looks DELICIOUS! Your photos are amazing. I end up leaving nose prints on my monitor.
jaden
happy new year
Now that is a luscious bowl of pasta! Wish you and your family a fantastic New Year, Jaden!
24 dollars?! Better have gold in it… LOL
Great post, Jaden, and lovely photos!
Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year from up North! š
the secret to life is butter so they say… and i may add garlic and olive oil…then hmmm life is good!
happy new year jaden!
Oh, butter is always the secret. This looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing the recipe. That’s one of the reasons I love your blog – you make amazing food accessible. Best wishes for a wonderful 2010!
No wonder it’s so good! That infused oil would make ANYTHING sublime. Can’t wait to get home and try this–thanks for making that phone call. š
Scoop out the seeds!?!?!?! The goop surrounding the seeds is where all the flavor is. If you ever doubt it, cut a tomato in half, take the seeds out of one half, and eat them both.
Wow. I made this last night, very easy and tasty. I used more than a pinch of red pepper, but I like a little more heat. Shame of it was that even though I picked through all the tomatoes at my Kroger, they weren’t as flavorful as I hoped for. The organic ones were bundled in 4-pack trays, but they didn’t look as ripe either. I think I will try it next time for a light lunch with just canned tomatoes. The basil-garlic oil was great on the pasta and even a little drizzle on the eggplant was great. I didn’t make fresh pasta, but used Ronzoni dried instead. This maybe my summer staple, along with bruschetta. Now that’s eating your veggies.
Oh, I forgot.. discard the onion after it’s done, and that was the large 28 oz (I think it’s that many oz’s) of tomatoes.
Have you ever tried Marcella Hazan’s sauce? It is simply OUT OF THIS WORLD!! And so simple to boot! It’s one can of diced tomatoes (I use the one with basil and garlic) and then you simmer with 1 onion (peeled and cut in 1/2) and a stick of butter. No need to stir or do anything… just simmer on low. It is amazingly delectable!
I’ve been making a similar spaghetti…but with a bit more of butter and it’s sort of surprising but it’s my daughter’s absolute favorite. Easiest I’ve ever made and her favorite? So now have to try this with the addition of basil; might be my favorite!
That is a bowl full of beauty!
My wife and I got into the habit of making a spaghetti ‘sauce’ out of little more than fresh tomatoes, onions, and some garlic from our local CSA. Can’t beat it for flavor, and this recipe kicks it up a notch with the basil oil. Yummy!
Jaden, you are amazing. and I love all of your recipes. thank you for sharing, i plan on making this immediately if not sooner.
You are making me now want to make my own spaghetti sauce now :). Usually I just jazz up jarred spaghetti sauce with veggies, meat, and extra basil but now I think I’ll follow this recipe and maybe even just use fresh tomatoes only, now that I know how simple this is.
i cannot wait to try this š
This looks fabulous, but totally not worth $24 a serving. š I always deseed my tomatoes before making sauce. It makes a world of difference!
I might need ot make that garlic basil oil for my next batch of pasta. It looks divine.
Off to the store I go. I plan to double this recipe as I want to use the sauce for eggplant parmesan.
I’ve been to Scarpetta’s out in South Beach at the Fountainebleu. It WAS so yummy. Jury’s still out on if the cost was worth it though, but you know how cheap I am! [thank goodness for business trips]
Wow, the garlic basil oil will make anything taste great! Love this simple but flavor packed recipe.
OOOhhh lala that oil looks good. And the spaghetti? If people pay 24$ a plate for three bites…It got to be worth the time to make! It doesn’t look that unhealthy to me.
awesome awesome, such a simplicity and yet taste so good!
Love the recipe – thanks – but I couldn’t in good conscience discard all that lovely, oily garlic. Do you think it would still have enough oomph left in it to make nice with some warm Italian bread?
@Annie yes! you can save it, just refrig and use in few days.
Ooo… The garlic basil oil!
Now, I know why some people’s pasta always taste so good. š
It’s just like how mum has shallot oil in her kitchen for chinese food. Aha.. it clicks now.
Thanks!
well i’m living in italy and as you can describe we can eat this yummy pasta every day š but we pay this 5-10ā¬ per serving. absolutely it changes for the city you eat. but i’ve never seen a higher price for this. and also if you can find the recipe, i advice you to try spaghetti alle vongole ( pasta with clams). this is more tastier than it š
Sounds great. I’ll have to try this out. š
I think ABC/Good Morning America needs to take some photography lessons from you … their spaghetti photo looks gross!
Love me some garlic and basil though … Mmm.
Oh my, sounds amazing! And even with butter, it’s not THAT bad for you…so maybe it’ll fit in with the post-holiday make-up-for-over-indulgence eating! š