Have you ever looked at the labels on commercial Spaghetti Sauce?
Next time you're out shopping, pick up a can or jar of it and read the
label. Notice the presence of sugar in there, whether it's in the
form of sugar or high fructose corn syrup or something else that means
sugar. I don't know about you, but I try not to buy anything with HFCS
in it and quite frankly, why do you need so much sugar in something
that is basically just tomatoes and herbs?
I started making my own
spaghetti sauce years ago and we like it much better than any of the
commercial brands out there. I also use it as a base for lasagna, so
when I make sauce, I make a lot. I figure if I'm going to be spending
time in the kitchen, I am going to make it count for something. If
you have your own home canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste, I
applaud you, I don't so I go to the store and buy tomatoes in several
different forms.
As
you can see from the picture, I open cans, and then add it to the
browned meat, and after that, correct for seasonings. And I only use
the No Salt added tomato products. We don't need the salt and
certainly don't miss it either in this recipe. Check out how much
sodium is in those other cans of tomatoes. I'm waiting. Surprised? Now add that to the sugar in prepared sauce, yuck, right?
Begin by chopping up a large onion, I like a fairly fine dice. Throw
it in the pan with some olive oil and cook it till it just starts to
change color, then add a couple or three crushed and chopped cloves of
garlic. Put in as much garlic as you like here. Cook for
just a minute or so, and then remove from heat, and reserve in a
separate dish. If using fresh mushrooms, throw them in the pan and just
let them cook just for a minute before you add your meat to the pan,
brown it and cook until it is no longer pink. Break it up a little
with your spatula and then add the onions and garlic to the meat, let it
cook for a few minutes more, then add the Italian herbs to the meat
mixture.Sorry, blurry picture, but you get the drift.
I just found a great product called Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs blend. Check the link out here, http://www.gourmetgarden.com/us/
It comes in a tube and you can find it in the refrigerated section of
the veggie section in your grocery store. It is a little pricey, but
well worth it for the fresh taste. Or you can add some dried Italian
seasoning to the meat as you're browning it, this seems to help open up
the flavour of the dried herbs. While the meat is browning open up
those cans of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. If using
canned mushrooms, go ahead and add them with the tomatoes. Dump the
tomatoes into a large pot, mix it up with your spoon until the tomato
paste is incorporated and when the meat is ready, add it to the pot.
Taste it here to help correct the seasoning, and if necessary add more
herbs. You can also add a rich full bodied red wine at this point, just a cup or two. Add a few tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese and then simmer
for about an hour over low heat, stirring from time to time. Cook up
your favourite pasta, whether it be spaghetti, linguine, or angel hair
and serve the sauce over the pasta or however you like to serve it.
And it makes a lot.
I freeze the remainder and pull it out when we're
in the mood for Spaghetti or Lasagna.
HINT: If using plastic dishes to freeze in, line them with some plastic wrap, this keeps the sauce from staining, plus when it's frozen, throw that block into a plastic bag, and save the plastic container for something else. Or just spoon the sauce into a ziploc bag, squeeze out the excess air and freeze flat.
If I'm making Lasagna, I add an
Olive oil for browning.
You can also add a couple of cups of a good red wine to the sauce, my DH doesn't care for the taste, but it does add a richness that can't be beat.
