My parents are great cooks. It’s the main reason I became so interested in cooking. It also caused a lot of problems for me in school since I usually refused to eat any of the food cooked for me by the school cafeteria since I didn’t like it. One of my dad’s best meals that I dearly loved was his spaghetti bolognese. I had to relearn how to make it myself when I moved away. Here’s my version of what I remembered dad doing. It’s a thick, meaty and hardy pasta sauce that is great for a cold rainy day.
1 lb Italian Sausage, the loose kind
Olive Oil
3 Ribs Celery, diced
2 Medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 Medium Onion, diced.
2 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs Chopped garlic
1/2 Tbs dried Oregano
Red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup Red wine
1 28oz can Italian tomatoes, diced.
choice of Pasta
Salt and Pepper
You want to start by bringing out the flavor of the meat as much as possible. To do that the best way is to brown the sausage in a heavy bottom dutch over. Get it very hot, add the olive oil, and add the sausage in batches. Allow it to brown without stirring too much to build up a frond, a nice brown layer stuck to the pan. Remove the sausage as you go.
When the meat is all finished, add more olive oil and all the vegetables. Cook until the onions are slightly browned and the carrots are celery is less firm. Add the tomato paste and let it cook for a bit near the bottom of the pan. Then add the garlic and oregano and red pepper flakes if using. Let them cook until fragrant.
Deglaze the pan with red while. Scrape all the delicious stuff from the bottom of the pan. Boil and reduce by half. Add the tomatoes with juice. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook with the lid mostly on for an hour to an hour and a half until nice and thick. While it’s cooking boil pasta. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper and a little sugar if it’s too acidic.
Serve with pasta of choice and Parmesan cheese. It’s also a great leftover.
