I can’t believe the blog has gone on this long without
posting this recipe, the very first savory meal I ever made by myself. I don’t actually remember when that would
have been but somewhere around age 12, possibly a little later and definitely
before I was 14. And this is a dish I
have made ever since. It was my mother’s
specialty but now when we have this meal as a family (and I am at home) I am
always the one who makes it (which isn’t usually the case for other family
favourites I now make myself). This is
likely a dish most home cooks make with at least some regularity, especially if
they are cooking for children (what kid doesn’t like spaghetti?). But I really think mine is better. Like many of my dishes it does take some time
to make but, like many of the dishes I post here, it is not all that difficult
or particularly time consuming.
3lbs ground beef
2 onions
Olive oil
1 head of garlic (you can use a little bit less)
1 green pepper (optional)
Mushrooms (optional)
Carrots (very optional)
2-3 cups tomato sauce (or 1 can San Marzano tomatoes)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tbsp rosemary
2 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp basil
1 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
1 piece parmesan rind (or about ½ cup grated parmesan)
½ cup red wine
Spaghettini or Spaghetti
There are many options possible for this recipe. One thing I have done at times is to add some
bacon to this. When I do, I add about ¼
cup of chopped bacon to the pot at the very beginning and cook until the fat is
rendered out, then use the bacon fat in place of some of the olive oil and
proceed with the recipe. Also, there are
many vegetable options that you can use, just keep in mind this is not a vegetable-based
sauce, so the vegetables should only be an accent. Aside from the onions, none of the vegetables
are actually required and others could be used instead. If I happen to have mushrooms and green
pepper in the house I will usually use them in this. I know that carrots are very frequently used
in Bolognese style sauces, but they would need to be diced very fine or grated
in, and I don’t think it’s worth the trouble.
Zucchini might be another good option here.
Dice the onions and mince the garlic. Saute the onions on medium heat in olive oil,
along with the green peppers, if using.
When the onions have softened, add the mushrooms and continue to cook
until mushrooms have cooked. Then add
garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Then add the beef and brown/cook it (in most
pans, with the quantities in this recipe, the meat won’t really brown – too
crowded – but that doesn’t really matter here, you just need to get the meat
cooked). When all the meat is cooked,
add the tomato sauce and paste, mix well.
Then add salt and all the herbs and spices (I typically use dried herbs
for all the herbs called for here. Yes,
I realize many, if not most, chefs consider the use of dried basil to be
completely unacceptable, but in this case I disagree. It does have enough flavour. If you have fresh basil absolutely use it,
the sauce will be even better, but dried works fine. The same goes for all the herbs with the
possible exception of oregano – even with fresh you should still use some
dried). Make sure to taste for seasoning
and balance here. Herbs and spices vary
in strength and they can lose their strength over time. Next add a piece of parmesan rind. The way to get this is, once you have
finished grating all the usable cheese off a piece of parmesan, keep the rind –
in the fridge or the freezer – until needed.
If you don’t have a piece of rind available, just use grated
parmesan. Then add the wine and simmer
on low with the lid on for at least ½ hour – if you have more time even
better.
Meanwhile prepare a large pot of
water for the pasta. Make sure the water
is salted generously, as this is the only opportunity to actually season the
pasta. In my view, there is no real
benefit to putting oil in the water – if you use a pot that is large enough,
the water will not boil over, and the oil will definitely not transfer to the
noodles on draining. When the water is
at a full boil add the pasta, making sure to stir it occasionally so it does
not stick. Cook to al dente, most
package directions are actually not too far off so if you start checking it
maybe 2 minutes before the package says, it should be done. Drain the pasta right away but DO NOT WASH
IT. Many chefs now tell you to save some
pasta water and mix it with the sauce.
While this is generally good advice, this is in no way an authentic
Italian pasta sauce. The proportion of
sauce to noodles will likely be way off and a chunky sauce like this is
actually not the best type of sauce for spaghetti anyway. This is really a recipe for meat sauce with
pasta. For that reason, adding pasta
water won’t help you much in this instance.
Anyway, put the drained pasta back in the pot and toss with olive
oil. Serve the sauce with the pasta, and
garlic bread if you like.
Garlic Bread
While there is some halfway decent garlic butter available
in stores, I think it is still worth the effort to make your own.
Garlic
Butter
Fresh herbs (I suggest parsley & thyme)
Salt
White wine
Parmesan cheese
Chop the garlic and mix it with melted butter. Cook in the microwave for a minute or so, then
add salt, herbs and wine. Don’t add too
much wine, but it is there to add some acid and some water to soak into the
bread and help infuse the garlic. Use a crusty
Italian-style bread – Ciabatta works very well as it bakes wide and flat. When split, it is perfect to hold plenty of
garlic butter. Brush the garlic butter
onto the bread, top with the cheese, and broil with the broiler set to
low. Watch the bread carefully and you
may have to rotate the pan, move pieces around, and remove some pieces earlier,
to make sure everything crisps nicely but does not burn. Serve immediately.
