I must preface this by saying that I NEVER, EVER make this sauce from a "recipe". I'm one of those, throw a little of this and a little of that in kind of cooks - except for baking of course. I might be in the mood for a sauce with more basil or maybe more oregano at a certain time and thus lean more heavily on one of those herbs. The amount of sugar required will depend entirely upon the acidity of the tomatoes you use. You will simply need to get it all put together and then adjust to your tastes. I prefer a sweeter sauce, some would prefer a tangier, more acidic one.
I've scaled it down to a manageable amount - I usually make GALLONS at a time and then freeze it. If you like a meatier sauce, add more meat - not a meat sauce person, leave it out. You can add sausage or pork or basically whatever you like. Be creative.
2 32 oz cans tomato puree 1 32 oz can crushed canned tomatoes 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic -- minced 2 each onions -- sliced 8 ounces mushrooms -- sliced 1 green bell peppers -- rough chopped 1 red bell peppers -- rough chopped 1 pound ground beef 2 tablespoons dried oregano 4 tablespoons dried parsley 2 tablespoons dried basil 1/2 to 1 cup sugar -- or to taste salt & pepper (It will need a good amount of salt - as usual, I prefer Kosher salt.)
Saute ground beef - set aside. Saute mushrooms in olive oil - set aside. Saute onions and peppers together until tender but not mushy. HALFWAY through, add chopped garlic and finish sauteing. Mix together above and add rest of ingredients - mix well and simmer for about an hour.
Posted by Robin Sharrard (Member # 388) on :
Thanks Kimberly...how bout that Shrimp Scampi recipe I asked you about at the last Micro Meet? Robin
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
Kimberly That sounds great similar to my recipe I use twice as much garlic So I can smell like SI.... no meat(fennel seed imitates Italian sausage)
add a skinned chopped eggplant that has been salted and rested in a colander for an hour..then rinsed
and a good shot of fresh grated romano or parmesan or both and a healthy splash of red wine sometimes...fresh jalepeno...chopped seeds and all
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
I prefer maple syrup to sugar, and find a tad of lime can add considerable zip and interest.
Posted by Tony Segale (Member # 1380) on :
and, of course, I never make any spaghetti gravy without adding some red wine.... preferably the home made variety
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Thanks Kimberly..sounds good to me..might give it a try..
Serious question from a Canuck though..
What is "kosher salt"?
I'm aware of "kosher" meats but wasn't aware of salt. What is different about it?
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Larger grains Dave..don't worry...use regular.
Posted by Harris Kohen (Member # 2139) on :
the Kosher salt is also great to have around the house for winter ice melting use and also is used on dance floors to make it easier to move your feet.
Posted by Suelynn Sedor (Member # 442) on :
Thanks Kimberly!
Is the tomato puree like tomato paste? I might just have to make that today!!
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Suelynn, It's thick but nowhere near as thick as tomato paste. Look for it near your pasta products if it's not in the canned vegetables aisle. For some reason, our supermartket puts it over by the pasta stuff. Go figure. I buy all of that stuff at Costco - if you want, you can buy it at Costco in the big #10 cans and freeze what you don't use.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
BTW, Si brought up a good point in chat last night...the amount of garlic in this recipe is on the low side. If you're a garlic lover, add more. You have to walk a fine line with garlic - you CAN put too much into a recipe. You don't want to taste nothing but garlic. You want to be able to taste the herbs and the mushrooms too. If you have 900 cloves of garlic in there, it will mask everything else.
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
in my understanding MARINARA sauce contains no meat. if i want a marinara sauce on angel hair....i buy HUNTS HERB & GARLIC cans and add a little more garlic and fresh bazil and rosemary out the herb garden. also while iam cooking the pasta i add a pkg of frozen chopped spinach to it so the spinach and pasta cook in the same water. i drain, add sauce and serve. at the table i add romano grated and sometimes cottage cheese. my mom also used to add sweet peas to the sauce for something different.
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