By Saturday I cooked Grandma Carol’s 1968 recipe card. The card had been in the box on the kitchen counter since June 2017 and I had not made it because the recipe needed a six-hour stovetop simmer and I had not had a Saturday with six hours to give it. This Saturday I had the time.
The recipe is the family marinara. Browned ground beef and Italian sausage cooked down with two large cans of crushed tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, an onion fine-chopped, six cloves of garlic, fresh basil, a bay leaf, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper, a parmesan rind. Simmer covered six hours, stirring every thirty minutes.
The math: a pound of ground beef $1.99, a pound of Italian sausage $2.99, two cans of crushed tomatoes $2.98, can of tomato paste $0.49, vegetables and herbs and the parmesan rind from the freezer. Total: about $9 for a big pot that yielded twelve cups of finished sauce.
I froze the sauce in three quart-size containers for future weeks. The sauce is the kind of foundation that turns weeknight pasta into Sunday-night pasta. Mama said, watching the sauce simmer, baby, my mama’s sauce is back in this kitchen.
The recipe is below. The trick is the six hours and the parmesan rind.
Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 12 oz spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
- Fresh Parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the meat. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the pan and cook until softened and translucent, about 4–5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.
- Build the sauce. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, allowing it to caramelize slightly. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, stirring everything together until well combined.
- Season and simmer. Add the dried basil, oregano, red pepper flakes (if using), sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover partially, and let the sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers, the deeper the flavor.
- Taste and adjust. Before serving, taste the sauce and adjust seasoning as needed — a pinch more salt, a little more sugar if the tomatoes are acidic, or extra red pepper if you want heat.
- Serve. Ladle the sauce generously over cooked spaghetti and finish with freshly grated Parmesan. Eat at a kitchen counter on mismatched stools if possible.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 29g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 62g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 780mg