Salsa alla Capricciosa

I like a bite to my food, but my husband and son aren't quite as enthusiastic about heat, so I cut the amount of pepperocini when I made this. Still, even I found it too hot. I did like the general flavor, though, and I plan to make it again with even less pepperocini. Re: the tomatoes, I have used San Marzanos for a long time, but I do have to go out of my way a bit to get them. Either in Eating Well or Bon Appetit, a writer recommended Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes, and I find that they also have an excellent flavor. They may be easier to find for some folks.

I loved the idea of canning and freezing this sauce as holiday gifts, so I went the extra mile to special-order guanciale (ordered online) and find an Italian market that sold San Marzano tomatoes. The recipe was really easy, and turned out fabulous, but I plan to make a couple adjustments before my next batch. I agree with another person who commented about how spicy it turned out. We like spicy, but this was too much heat! So I will cut back on the pepperocinis and try a splash of white wine as suggested. There's no question the San Marzano tomatoes are worth the extra effort/expense to obtain. I'm also going to add more guanciale next time. I'm not sure how big a normal "slice" is, and maybe my slices were too small. Overall, a wonderful success!

I loved the idea of canning and freezing this sauce as holiday gifts, so I went the extra mile to special-order guanciale (ordered online) and find an Italian market that sold San Marzano tomatoes. The recipe was really easy, and turned out fabulous, but I plan to make a couple adjustments before my next batch. I agree with another person who commented about how spicy it turned out. We like spicy, but this was too much heat! So I will cut back on the pepperocinis and try a splash of white wine as suggested. There's no question the San Marzano tomatoes are worth the extra effort/expense to obtain. I'm also going to add more guanciale next time. I'm not sure how big a normal "slice" is, and maybe my slices were too small. Overall, a wonderful success!

Fantastic sauce. I used ground tomatoes from my local Italian deli since that's what I had on hand and sliced pepperoncini, again because that's what I had. We will make again and again, and we even used as a pizza sauce for deep dish pizza....awesome!