Homemade spaghetti sauce cooked over a long period on the stove top.
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 jar fav jar spaghetti sauce doesnt need to be fancy
- 1 can diced/stewed tomatoes 16 oz can
- 1 can tomatoe paste small can 8oz can
- 1 large red onion
- 1 large green pepper
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
- 1 cup white wine i used cheap pinot grigio
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped optional
- 1 lb ground beef/turkey cooked before adding
- 1 piece bay leaf
- Carbohydrate 48.1196425012924 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 1.2304575 g
- Fiber 10.7039498980641 g
- Protein 9.9171825000348 g
- Saturated Fat 0.278475 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (963g)
- Sodium 181.847500002485 mg
- Sugar 37.4156926032282 g
- Trans Fat 0.4068025 g
- Calories 251 calories
Step-by-step
- Add all ingredients to a large pan.
- Cover
- Cook on LOW for as long as you can.
- I tend to cook for at least 4 hours.
- Stir every 30 minutes.
- After about an hour, I leave the lid cracked to let some of the moisture out and thicken the sauce.
Swapping canned tomatoes for fresh pasteurized passata alters the viscosity drastically, requiring a longer initial reduction phase to drive off surplus water before the starches can thicken properly. Italian-American red sauces evolved from immigrant adaptations of Neapolitan ragù, shifting away from expensive cuts of whole meat toward accessible ground beef and pork simmered alongside pantry staples. This slow-cooking method relies on continuous low heat, maintaining a bare surface bubble around 185 degrees Fahrenheit to break down cellular walls in the onions and bell peppers without burning the tomato sugars at the bottom of the pan. Browning the ground meat thoroughly in a separate skillet before introduction is essential, because direct boiling in the sauce renders the protein gray and leaches out flavor rather than building the necessary fond. Standard Dutch ovens distribute heat evenly across gas or electric burners, but thin-walled aluminum stockpots demand frequent stirring every thirty minutes to prevent scorching along the base. Leaving the lid slightly ajar after the first sixty minutes encourages evaporation, concentrating the acidity of the wine and tomatoes into a rich, cohesive coating. Fresh herbs like basil and oregano added at the beginning will lose their volatile aromatic compounds during a four-hour simmer, so retain half of them for stirring in just five minutes before serving. Proper cooling allows residual fats to solidify at the surface for easy skimming if desired, and the finished sauce improves after resting overnight in the refrigerator as starches fully hydrate.
