Ever since I was little, I have had one food that has always been my favorite; Spaghetti. Specifically, my mother’s spaghetti. This is the stuff legends are made of. Every time I go home I know my mama has a littler tupperware of sauce stored in the freezer for me to take home and “share” (nope, not once). There has never been an instance where I didn’t want my mom’s spaghetti. I once ate a pound of spaghetti in one sitting (I also didn’t eat again for three days) because I had gone too long without it.
Now the trouble with my mom’s spaghetti sauce is that she has never written down the recipe because she’s sort of made it up and continually refined it over the years. So I took the time one weekend to annoy shadow her during this process for the sake of posterity. The thing to keep in mind with this recipe is that you can tweek everything in it based on your own tastes. And because it cooks slowly over several hours you have plenty of time to change and correct as you go. And when you do make it, let me know, so I can come over.
Mama’s Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
1 Onion (diced)
1/2 Green Pepper (diced)
2lbs Ground Chuck
28 oz. Crushed Tomatoes
16 oz. Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Beef Base
1/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Water
Black Pepper
Seasoned Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
Oregano Seasoning
Basil Seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Minced Garlic
1 bottle of Merlot
Salt
Directions:
1. Brown the ground chuck in a large pot on high; add pepper and seasoned sal halfway through browning; drain liquid from pot
2. Add oregano, and basil once meat is brown and drained
3. Next, add large can of tomatoes; rinse can with water and add with merlot (feel free to add as much or as little wine as you’d like)
4. Add small cans of tomato sauce; rinse cans with water and add to pot; keep on high
5. In a seperate saute pan on medium, swirl a bit of olive oil; add your garlic, onions, & peppers; sautee until onions are clear and garlic is fragrant; add to pot and stir
6. Add beef base and sugar; if needed add more wine and/or salt
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour with pot completely covered
8. Stir sauce and add any desired seasonings; let simmer for additional 3 hours stirring every hour with pot completely covered8. 10-15 minutes before serving, bring sauce to a boil;
9. In a small cup mix 1/4 flour and 1/4 water and add to pot while stirring; after several minutes turn back down to low with pot partially covered until ready to serve
