Carmine's Gumbi Recipe — Timothy Gomez (2024)

PREFACE: This is a version of the signature dish from the now shuttered Carmine's Italian Restaurant in Pasadena and Arcadia. I used to work there when I was 19, and this dish was a staple amongst my friend group. When they closed, the recipe was lost. Nothing comes up on Google or Yelp other than a few people looking for the same thing. I haven't had it in at least three years; so, using the brief description from their old menu, I decided to try and figure it out myself. I got pretty close. I used the trusty marinara recipe that my best friend taught me years ago and a meatball recipe that I adapted from Matty Matheson's recipe. You can see my original journey cooking the Gumbi on my Instagram story highlights here: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17881040629671984/

FOR THE MARINARA

Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion
4-5 Garlic Cloves
1 tin of FLAT Anchovies (not Rolled!)
One small can of Tomato Paste
Dried Oregano
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper
Splash of Red Wine
2 LARGE cans of San Marzano Tomatoes (I like whole, but crushed works as well)
1 LARGE (or 2 medium) cans of good tomato sauce

1. Coat the bottom of a heavy pot with olive oil and turn heat to medium.
2. Dice your onion and garlic. You’ll blend the sauce, so a rough chop is fine.
3. Sweat the onions slowly. DO NOT BROWN THEM. Just trying to get them clear.
4. Add your garlic after about 4-5 minutes, so it doesn’t burn.
5. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and about a 2 tablespoons of dried oregano.
6. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, moving everything around with your spoon the entire time.
7. Add the entire can of tomato paste and cook for 4-5 minutes.
8. Add the ENTIRE tin of anchovies with their oil.
9. Once the anchovies very sadly disintegrate, turn the heat up and add a splash or two of read wine. It’ll sound SO good. Keep everything moving for another few minutes until the all that’s left is this beautiful deep red sludge of tomatoey goodness.
10. Open up your cans of tomatoes and sauce and add them in.
11. Turn the sauce all the way to LOW. And let it cook for SLOWLY for about 90 minutes OR MORE if you have the time.
12. Scrape the bottom of the pot about every 15 minutes, so the tomatoes don’t burn. It’s tedious but worth it!

NOTE: you can stop here and have a DELICIOUS sauce with some pasta of your choice and some Parmesan cheese and a parsley garnish, and you would be absolutely happy, but let’s keep going.*

ANOTHER NOTE: You can serve the sauce like this, unblended with big beautiful San Marzano tomatoes nice and soft, but for the purposes of this dish, we will blend it.*

FOR THE MEATBALLS

1 lb. of 80/20 ground beef
1 lb. of ground pork
1/2 lb. of mild Italian sausage
1 slice of white bread or sourdough bread
2-3 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup Bread Crumbs
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil

1. Soak bread in the milk for a couple of minutes.
2. Add all the meats, the milk/bread mix, eggs, bread crumbs, about a tablespoon or more of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, a tablespoon or two of olive oil and Parmesan into a BIG bowl.
3. Mash around with your hands until everything is WELL incorporated. This is gross. I know.
4. The mixture should be JUST wet enough for the meatballs together. If it feels too dry, add the third egg or a little more milk. If it’s too wet, add a bit more bread crumbs.
5. Roll up the meatballs into about half a fist, maybe a bit more.
6. Heat a NONSTICK pot with A LOT of olive oil over MEDIUM HIGH heat. The oil should coat the entire bottom.
7. BROWN BOTH sides of your ALL of your meatballs. DO NOT cook them all the way through. JUST brown them. You’ll get this BEAUTIFUL sizzle sound that is the best thing ever.
8. Add your meatballs into your marinara sauce! The meatballs should cook AT LEAST 60 minutes in the sauce.

ANOTHER NOTE: You can AGAIN stop here and serve this as pasta and meatballs, and you would be absolutely happy that you did so. Maybe make a little garlic bread? Have a glass or seven of wine?*

FOR THE GUMBI

2 cups of your homemade marinara, BLENDED
2-3 diced up homemade meatballs
2 cups of shredded low-moisture mozzarella
1 1/2 tbsp of unsalted butter
Rigatoni
Diced Parsley or Basil
Parmesan
Baby Portobello Mushrooms (OPTIONAL)

1. Bring water to a boil and salt the water. Cook your pasta about ONE MINUTE less than the HIGHEST time your box suggests.
2. In a sauce pan, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Toss in your marinara sauce.
4. Toss in your butter and mix the two until the butter melts.
5. Toss in your meatballs (and, if you want them, your mushrooms; I prefer it without).
6. Season with a little salt.
7. When your pasta is done, toss about two servings worth it into the sauce mixture.
8. Mix real well and THEN add your mozzarella cheese and basil or parsley.
9. Mix around until everything is well incorporated (It took about 4 minutes for me).
10. Serve on pretty plates and top with grated Parmesan (Carmine’s used the nasty green tub stuff, but I like fresh parm).

BOOM. You made Carmine's Gumbi! If you're only here for this recipe, cool. I hope you enjoy making it and you share with your family and friends and people you love. If you feel inclined to do so, feel free to follow me on Instagram (http://instagram.com/timfinitely) and let me know how you liked the recipe or if you have any suggestions for improving. If you have time, peruse my website and check out some of my writing, which is absolutely nothing like this recipe! Maybe you'll like it though and tell your friends about it, and I'll finally get a book deal? WHO KNOWS. Or maybe this will blow up, and I'll begrudgingly quit teaching to focus on becoming a food YouTuber and writer. I don't know, dude.