My Best Spaghetti Sauce

Every family that makes spaghetti or meat sauce has their own favorite recipe for ”Sunday Gravy” This is ours. It’s simple and basic using lean ground beef, Italian sausage, and San Marzano tomatoes.

It’s not an all-day cook, but deserves a good 1 1/2 hours for sure. Loretta loves it with spaghetti. I love to make Lasagna with it. And, it freezes well. This recipe yields about 9-10 cups.

To serve, we toss the cooked spaghetti with a little of the sauce first. And then add a little more sauce, judiciously, to the plated pasta.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium onion, minced

• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1/2 pound (2 links) Italian sausage, casing removed

• 1 tsp Kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

• 1 (28 ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes

• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

• 1/2 cup dry red wine

• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

• 3-4 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

• 1 (2 inch) parmesan rind

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 1/4 cup (packed) torn fresh basil leaves

• 2-3 tbsp cold unsalted butter

Directions:

• Peel then cut the onion into 8 pieces and place in a small food processor. Pulse until finely diced. Add the peeled garlic cloves and pulse a few more times.

• Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and garlic mixture and cook, stirring, about 4-5 minutes.

• Crumble in the ground beef and the Italian sausage. Cook until no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.

• Add the tomato pasta and stir to combine. Cook another 2-3 minutes.

• Add the San Marzano tomatoes, Rinse the can with 1 cup of water and add to the pot.Smash the whole tomatoes with wooden spoon or potato masher.

• Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Place over a small burner on low, cover, and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours. Stir every 15-20 minutes.

• Add the cold butter and stir until it melts.

• Taste and reseason if necessary.