I’ve always make my own meat sauce for spaghetti. I also make my own sauce for when we make our home made pizza, I do need to blog about that! But I have yet to tried a sauce that takes 5 hours to make. It’s roughly about 45 minutes to an hour of prep time then you let it simmer on low for about 4-5 hours. The particular recipe I was looking at to get an idea used a hearty red wine, but we didn’t have any in stock here, so I decided to use a White Zinfandel. It gave it a different flavor I’m sure, but it still was very good. This makes a lot, we were able to get 2 meals out of, 3 meals for Chris’s lunch and about a full half gallon size to freeze for a later date.
Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan
Kosher salt
2 pounds ground turkey meat and 1 pound ground beef
2 cups tomato paste
2 cups hearty white zinfandel
1 bunch thyme
Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper, about a tablespoon(if you like spicy)
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup grated fresh mozzarella cheese
Directions:
1) In a food processor, puree onion and garlic into a coarse paste.
2) In a large pan over medium heat, coat pan with oil. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt/pepper/red pepper.
3) Bring the pan to a medium-high heat and cook until all the water has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently, about 15 to 20 minutes.
4) Add the ground beef/turkey and season again generously with salt. Brown the beef. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.
5) Add the tomato paste and cook until brown about 4 to 5 minutes.
6) Add the white zinfandel. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, another 4 to 5 minutes.
7) Add water to the pan until the water is about 1 inch above the meat. Toss in the bundle of thyme and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates you will gradually need to add more, about 2 to 3 cups at a time. Don’t be shy about adding water during the cooking process, you can always cook it out.
9) Stir and taste the sauce often. Season with salt, if needed. Simmer for 4 to 5 hours.
10) Serve with some pasta and garlic bread and don’t forget to add the fresh grated mozzerella!
Enjoy!
Adapted from Anne Burrell, Food Network.
