Spaghetti Sauce
This sauce came from a good friend's Italian Mother-in-law. It is easy, and by far the best homemade sauce I know of. Great for both Spaghetti and Lasagna.
This sauce came from a good friend's Italian Mother-in-law. It is easy, and by far the best homemade sauce I know of. Great for both Spaghetti and Lasagna.
- Carbohydrate 28.1460062501916 g
- Cholesterol 36.8543800625 mg
- Fat 6.32486087500647 g
- Fiber 4.28626249403571 g
- Protein 14.6851830000494 g
- Saturated Fat 2.42128854682335 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (324g)
- Sodium 406.407245525128 mg
- Sugar 23.8597437561559 g
- Trans Fat 0.895914250815509 g
- Calories 217 calories
Step-by-step
- Blend the stewed tomatoes and crushed tomatoes in a blender.
- In a stock pot or large kettle, brown the ground beef with the onions, peppers, and garlic.
- Pour in tomatoes, and reduce heat.
- Add sugar, basil, bay leaves and oregano, and simmer about 40 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper before serving.
Deep red, slightly textured, and aromatic with sweet basil and pungent garlic, a properly simmered meat sauce clings to pasta strands rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Achieving this consistency requires careful management of heat and moisture during the initial browning and subsequent simmering phases.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Crowding the stock pot when browning the ground beef, onions, peppers, and garlic creates steam rather than fond, leading to gray, boiled meat instead of deeply browned protein with concentrated savory notes. Maintain medium-high heat during this phase, ensuring excess moisture evaporates completely before introducing the blended tomatoes. When simmering the sauce for the specified 40 minutes, keep the heat low enough to prevent scorching at the bottom of the vessel while allowing excess water to drive off.
Scaling and Adjustments
Doubling this recipe for larger gatherings requires careful attention to seasoning ratios, particularly the sugar, salt, and dried herbs, which do not always scale in a strictly linear fashion. Taste the sauce 10 minutes before removing it from the heat, adding salt and freshly cracked pepper incrementally to avoid over-seasoning as reduction concentrates the minerals.
