Internet Ready Spaghetti (E-mail Recipe)
Why I Love This Recipe
Ingredients You'll Need
Lube:
1/4 stick butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 tablespoons oil from meat
Fresh and Wet:
2 1/2 pounds ground meat (beef, turkey or pork)
1 package fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup wine or beer (Chardonnay -white) or (Merlot - red) -
1/2 for the saute and 1/2 for the meat
8 cloves garlic, minced - 6 for the saute and 2 for the meat
3 small bell peppers (green, yellow, red - diced)
2 medium size onions (yellow and red - diced)
3 cans diced tomato
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
6 fresh basil leaves (julienned)
Dry:
2 teaspoons each parsley, oregano and basil
1/2 teaspoon each thyme and marjoram
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon (tweak to your taste) ground allspice
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons kosher salt (one for the meat, one for the saute
and one for the boiling water)
2 tablespoons organic, brown or white sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt (for the boiling water)
2 bay leaves (one for saute and one for meat)
2 packages spaghetti or any other type of pasta
Directions
Chop onions, mushrooms, yellow and red bell peppers, and garlic, separating the amount of six and two cloves.
Roast green bell pepper over gas flame, turning over frequently with tongs, or chop in half then broil in the oven until charred. Peel and dice the roasted pepper and set to the side with rest of the vegetables.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium to medium low heat. Add the two cloves of garlic, meat, one tablespoon of salt, and brown.
Stir in the half cup of wine and one of the bay leaves and simmer, stirring for ten minutes. Put the four tablespoons of oil from the meat to a sauté pan.
Drain excess oil and set to the side.
Heating the oil at medium to medium low heat, add the six remaining cloves of garlic, onions, mushrooms, yellow and red peppers, and one tablespoon of kosher salt into the sauté pan. Stir constantly and let it brown until onions are translucent.
Add the bay leaf and the other half cup of the wine into the pan and let it simmer for ten minutes or until the liquid cooks out.
Combine the sautéed vegetables, tomato cans, and the rest of the dry ingredients into the large pot increasing to high heat.
Mix constantly, boil, and then decrease heat to a simmer for 2 to 3 hours or until liquid becomes thick.
At this point, I usually taste for acidity levels, adding more sugar until balanced.
Just before the sauce thickens, in another large pot, add water with the tablespoons of both Kosher and Sea Salt.
Bring to a boil and add the pasta, stirring constantly.
A tip I found to have your pasta ‘al dente’ is to add two minutes to the suggested cooking time.
That way, you don’t have to keep checking on the pasta and potentially burning your fingers or tongue.
When the pasta is finally al dente, drain pasta into a colander and let it cool down, continuing the cooking process.
When ready to serve, you can add the fresh julienned basil and stir into sauce or garnish over plate.
You can also serve the pasta separate from the sauce or combine the two.
Accompany with remaining wine used to cook.
