this recipe for home made spaghetti sauce comes from the ungarretti and cappechi family lines that came over on the Big Boat to start a new life in the Land of Opportunity around 1880-1900.
- Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 onion (large white or yellow onion works great)
- 5-10 cloves of garlic
- 30 oz can of tomato sauce
- 15 oz can of chopped tomatoes or whole stewed tomatoes
- 6-8 oz can of tomato paste
- a few palms of italian seasoning
- a tablespoon or so of basil (a couple whole basil leaves works better)
- a bottle of extra virgin olive oil to be used at random intervals and with much gusto
- salt and pepper
- any extra veggies you wish to experiment with (celery, black olives, green/red/yellow pepper, parsley, chives, spinach, etc.)
- step 1: prep
- make sure you have everything to make the stuff. (VERY IMPORTANT!)
- dice and chop up the onions and garlic cloves. make sure you peel them first.
- prepare any other vegetables you plan on sticking in your experiment.
- make sure you still have everything to make the spaghetti. (cats will always steal something. discipline them accordingly)
- step 2: cook the stuff
- start off by browning the beef (make sure the beef breaks up). drop a few glugs of olive oil in the pan
- add the onions and garlic halfway through browning the beef. salt and pepper to taste. maybe more olive oil
- once the beef looks done, transfer it to a big pot and add all the tomato stuff. (yup, more olive oil)
- if you have any other veggies you wish to add, do so now. (and olive oil)
- stir that for a little bit, then add the italian seasoning, more pepper and chopped basil (unless you are using basil leaves)
- add some more olive oil (you can never have too much!) and stir it a little more to get stuff evenly distributed.
- step 3: wait
- go read a book. maybe something by orson scott card or tracy hickman. i really liked dragon wing by tracy hickman and margaret weis. the black company by glen cook was also a good (albeit very fast) read.
- let this concoction simmer (LOW HEAT!) for at least an hour in an open pot. check it every once in a while and stir it around. notice how it looks like the the mud pits at yellowstone national park.
- an hour like this is minimum, 6 hours is heaven. the longer you cook it, the better it will taste. (make sure your ability to pour olive oil isnt rusty yet)
- if you are using whole basil leaves instead of chopped basil, add the leaves about a half hour before you plan to stop cooking the sauce. basil will turn sour if it is cooked too long, this way you get the flavor wiithout the sourness.
- step 4: eat me!
- if you need help eating, you shouldnt be using the internet
- the best noodles to use are: spaghetti, spagatinni and vermicelli
- some form of bread and a tall glass of milk top off a meal fit to feed the hungriest mobsters!
i hope this works out for everyone, i really like cooking spaghetti. maybe one day i will learn about lasagna. mmmm