Mike Isabella's Pepperoni Sauce (For Pasta)

If you watch Top Chef, you know who Mike Isabella is. He almost won Top Chef All-Stars recently, and he featured this recipe. The judges were over the top about it, and apparently he got a lot of requests for it. This was from Twitter, with no measurements specified. Then, I found the recipe posted at allthosethingsiloveblogspot and was ecstatic! According to Ron this was published in the "Newark Star-Ledger: This is it: The sauce chef Mike Isabella made for his “Top Chef All-Stars” main-course finale. It was praised to the skies by judge Gail Simmons. It will be on the menu at Isabella’s new restaurant, Graffiato. Because it is boldly flavored, a little sauce goes a long way. The chef recommends serving it alongside roasted or grilled chicken." He served it on a braised pork shoulder. MAKE AHEAD: The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Yields: 4 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 6  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1  small onion, cut into small dice
• 5  medium garlic cloves, cut into very thin slices
• 1  lb  pepperoni, cut into thin slices
• 1  teaspoon fennel seed, toasted (see NOTE)
• 1  teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 -12  ounces  canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juices
• 1 1⁄2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1  fresh bay leaf

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, until the oil shimmers.
2. Add the onion and garlic; cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until they are golden and fragrant.
3. Stir in the pepperoni; cook for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and evenly coated, then add the toasted fennel seed and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute, stirring.
4. Add the tomatoes and their juices (to taste), the broth and the bay leaf; stir to incorporate.
5. Once the mixture starts to bubble at the edges, cover and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. The pepperoni slices will be soft, with a deeper color.
7. Remove from the heat.
8. Working in batches as needed, transfer to a food processor or a high-powered blender (including the bay leaf); puree until smooth.
9. The sauce is ready to use. Or cool, cover and refrigerate or freeze.
10. NOTE: Toast the fennel seed in a small dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the skillet often to keep the seeds from burning. They will become fragrant and slightly darker in color. This only takes a couple of minutes.
11. He also recomends using San Marzano tomatoes for this recipe.