Thick Spaghetti Sauce

Makes about 8 cups

This is not the quick and easy fresh tomato sauce for spaghetti. Rather, it is the type that simmers for several hours, becoming very thick and mellow. It is probably what most Americans think of when imagining Spaghetti sauce and is my version of an Italian Bolognese sauce. However, many of the spaghetti sauces I have tried turn out a bit watery (they look thick in the pot, but when placed on noodles, you end up with a small pool of water at the base of your spaghetti). In order to prevent this (especially since Jim really doesn’t like watery sauce), I developed this method to make it nice and thick. You could probably get the same results by cooking it all day long to boil off the excess water, but you really don’t need to take the time.

2

medium

onions, minced

2

cloves

garlic (large)

2

Tbs

olive oil

15

ml

1

pound

ground turkey

16

ounces

455

grams

1

pound

italian sausage

16

ounces

455

grams

2

cans

diced tomatoes, drained (reserve juice)

56

ounces

1.5

kg

1

can

tomato paste

6

ounces

170

grams

1

can

tomato sauce

8

ounces

227

grams

1

tsp

oregano

1

ml

1

Tbs

basil

15

ml

salt & pepper (begin with 1 tsp salt & ¼ tsp pepper

1

pinch

cloves

2

Tbs

molasses

30

ml

1

cup

red wine

8

fl. ounces

250

ml

all

liquid from drained tomatoes

2

each

carrots, sliced

1

rib

celery, sliced

1

cube

beef bullion

1

tsp

5

ml

¾

pound

fresh mushrooms, sliced

12

ounces

340

grams

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot.
Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.

Add meats and brown, stirring well to break up the meat.

Add the tomatoes, sauce, and paste and stir well to incorporate.
Add oregano, basil, cloves, and molasses . Add salt & pepper to taste.

Leave to simmer.

Pour the reserved liquid from the drained tomatoes into a sauce pan along with the red wine.
Add the sliced carrots and celery.
Boil until the vegetables are soft and the liquid just covers them.
Pour into a blender or food processor. Process into a thick puree.
Pour the puree into the simmering sauce.

Simmer the sauce for 2 hours (from when it first started to simmer.
Add the sliced mushrooms.
Simmer one hour longer, for a total of 3 hours.

Serve over boiled spaghetti or your favorite pasta.

Notes:

I really like my sauce made with beef (preferably short ribs), but since we’ve been in Europe there has been a mad cow scare and now it has appeared in the US. Therefore, we don’t eat much beef any longer and I have substituted ground turkey as it is easy and readily available (plus, lower in fat). You can use just about any type of meat you want.

The sauce freezes well, so I usually place 2 servings worth (a scant 1/2 cup) in zip-lock bags and freeze them laying flat. It makes them easy to stack in the freezer and requires minimal time to defrost before zapping in the microwave for a quick meal for 2.

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