Adapted from Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion, this dish reminds me of countless late night plates of Japanese spaghetti with ketchup at Sake Bar Hagi, a basement izakaya on 49th Street a half block but half a world away from Times Square. Hazan's recipe remains mostly intact, but I add bacon, green bell pepper, and, as was admitted to me by a former Hagi cook eating next to me at the counter the weekend that the beloved restaurant closed in January 2018, when I begged him for the recipe—"it's Japanese, Kate, so"—soy sauce.

Share: