When we were kids, my mother made pasta with tomato sauce every single Sunday. And the sauce always had some combination of chuck roast (my favorite), ground beef, sausage, and meatballs. The sauce was so thick and more brown than red. Nowadays, the sauce is more likely mushroom or meatballs and much more red. But if you’re so inclined, a good old-fashioned meat based sauce is a great weekend meal.
1/2 pound ground beef
1 pound chuck roast
1 pound mushrooms
olive oil
1 medium head of garlic
1 medium onion
fresh basil
fresh rosemary
fresh parsley
oregano
thyme
1 small can of tomato paste
4 – 5 glugs of red wine
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1 large can water
Clean, de-stem and slice mushrooms.
Heat olive oil in a large stock pan.
Brown the meat.
Peel and smash cloves OR cut the top off of a head of garlic, removing all of the loose dry skin.
Dice the onion and saute the onion and garlic until limp (or place the whole cleaned head in the pot).
Add mushrooms and wine.
Simmer for a few minutes adding the tomato paste.
When the paste has melted, add the herbs and the rest of the tomato, reserving one of the empty large cans to measure out about 1 can water.
Stir well and bring the sauce to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat to medium high. Stir every 20 – 30 minutes, cooking at least 4 hours.
Italian sausage version:
When adding Italian sausage, brown the sausage first. You may want to use two cans of tomato paste rather than one.
