A Sauce to Build a Dream On

I recently visited Serafina Broadway at the Dream Hotel to see what the restaurant's eponymous pasta sauce—and its original saucier—were all about. I had first expected to be snubbed by a stuffy entrepreneur reluctant to sit down for an interview. Instead, in walked a dashing tall man in belted blue jeans with a crisp black suit jacket. He smiled, gripped my half-frozen right palm with his warm hands and kissed both my cheeks on behalf of European tradition. His name? Vittorio Assaf. My initial perception was far off target.

When we sat down, he shared with me his favorite cabernet sauvignon, as well as the story of how he transformed himself into a successful restaurateur. Throughout our conversation, the ebullient Vittorio, who has a few silvery waves in his hair, emitted the heartiest belly laughs—the spontaneous, infectious kind that come with the bliss of inhaling the endorphin-charged aromas of garlic, basil, and good Italian wine night after night.

Yet despite his laughter and charm, Vittorio's crazy career trajectory shows he's a man who deserves to be taken seriously. This Italian-Lebanese restaurant prodigy started out as a trader at the New York Stock Exchange, then returned to Milan where he served as assistant to an Italian stockbroker. Later, a friend in Bologna helped him obtain a position in fashion advertising. In 1985, after the crash of the Italian stock market, Vittorio decided to move back to New York, where he started the tanning salon Portofino Sun Center.

But in 1994, he found a better way to bring the sunshine into people's lives. Vittorio resorted back to his love for fine food, which was bestowed upon him during his childhood in Italy. Subsequent to his father's death when Vittorio was three months old, his Italian grandmother, who cooked regularly for painters, poets, writers and other intellectual artists, helped to raise him. His acquisition of authentic Italian cooking skills was inevitable. He says, "By the time I was four years old I knew how to make a pizza, by the time I was eight I knew how to make branzino, and by 12 I was cooking for 50 people."

Living on scanty salaries, he and his gregarious pal Fabio Granato followed their dreams and took a risk: they launched Sofia Fabulous Pizza on 79th and Madison, which would become the first of six (and counting) eateries in the Serafina Restaurant Group, not to mention the Mexican (Mañana), Japanese (Geisha) and French (Brasserie Cognac) restaurants they'd eventually bring to Manhattan's culinary scene.

Why the switch from Sofia to Serafina? An owner of a nearby eatery with the same name forced Vittorio and Fabio to think of another title. Hungry for suggestions, the two came up with a deliciously brilliant idea: a competition. Whoever could conceive the best new appellation would win a lifetime of free pizza at the restaurant. A proposition that would cost them great amounts of dough, indeed.

"You could imagine that about 45,000 people tried to come up with names," says Vittorio with a laugh.

The winner, a woman, selected the name "Serafina," which translates to "seraphim," a type of angel. She couldn't have dreamt up a more appropriate name; the luxurious red sauce is savory and celestial and the food is heavenly. I do dream about the Focaccia di Sofia—crispy, warm flatbread that oozes with gooey ricotta cheese laced with basil and white truffle oil. Vittorio wouldn't have it any other way.

While he was growing up in Italy, one of his favorite kitchen creations was his grandmother's summer tomato sauce, made with fresh tomatoes in a hot pan with basil, a smattering of (yes) butter and a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano. "Fantastic," he says, gripping his chest with gusto.

To make this sauce from scratch can be difficult, especially in the wintertime when most tomatoes, at least on the east coast, are nearly as hard and starchy as baking potatoes. "When tomatoes are not in season, you can use them as a baseball," says Vittorio with a chuckle.

His tip: substitute beefsteak tomatoes with chopped cherry tomatoes or crushed, canned San Marzano tomatoes, which pack the most flavor because they grow in the pure volcanic soil of Mt. Vesuvius. He conducts a step by step sauce-making lesson in our Behind the Burner video, where he provides other techniques to making the perfect marinara.

Since his summer sauce recipe has become so popular, he decided to jar it along with a few other varieties such as arrabbiata and vodka sauces. The original is fabulous: San Marzano imported Italian plum tomatoes, fresh carrots, celery, onion and basil. With fresh garlic and crushed red pepper, the arrabbiata is delightful enough for even the feistiest foodies.

Vittorio promised that the Alla Vodka sauce, made with pancetta, fresh heavy whipping cream, butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, would "shock the boys" and help me win the heart of my crush. I sure hope he's right. Until then, I'll be in my kitchen twirling a fork in my pasta, hoping the aroma will bring him to my door.

Join me to take advantage of Behind the Burner's spectacular Serafina sauce promotion! Choose from Marinara, Cherry Tomato, Arrabbiata, Alla Vodka or our special Behind the Burner variety pack. Three jars for only $19.99!
CLICK HERE!

— Written by Danielle Travali

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