Meat Sauce

This recipe is listed on Domestic Randomness

Being Italian, I was raised eating pasta.  I love all kinds of pasta:  spaghetti, ravioli, mostaccioli, fettuccine.  The key to good pasta is a great sauce.   All of my family members make their sauce differently, but they all have key ingredients.  My Nonna made the best sauce ever!

My Nonna and Nonnu with me

My Nonna and Nonnu were from Sicily.  I remember going to their house when I was little and she was always cooking.  Everytime we were there she made us eat.  "Mangia, mangia," she would always say.  They spoke very little English.  I loved listening to them, always arguing like Italians do - we are passionate people!  She died when I was little but I have some great memories.

This recipe is one that I have tweaked over the years.

Ingredients: 

1 pound ground round
1/2 pound ground salsicha (italian sausage)
4 cans tomato sauce
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 onion, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup sugar
Parsley
Basil
Oregano
Salt
Pepper

Brown the beef and sausage.  Add the onions and garlic.  Saute together for 5 minutes or so.  Add the two cans of crushed tomatoes, wine, cheese, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar.

Let that simmer for 30 minutes or so.  Add the rest of the sauce and cook it all day.  The longer it cooks, the better it is.

My mother does not like to put sugar in her sauce.  Instead, she blends the crushed tomatoes with a carrot.  She feels like the carrot adds the right amount of sweetness.  I enjoy my sauce a little sweeter, so I add sugar.

My Nonna added several pieces of meat and bones in her sauce.  She added meatballs to her sauce and let them cook in the sauce. Adding the meat bones and meatballs does add flavor to the sauce, but it also adds greasiness.  She would skim the grease off the top of the sauce.  I would rather skip that step, so I brown my meat first and let it finish cooking in the sauce. 

As my Nonna would say, "Mangia!"

This recipe is featured on Foodie Friends Friday! and Buns In My Oven!  Weekend Potluck and Simple Living and Eating!