Wednesday my husband and my brother drove to Fort Worth to do a job. (They install windows for anyone who doesn't know that). When they got to Fort Worth the windows they were supposed to install were not where they were supposed to be, so they basically looked at each other and said "Well...let's go fishing". Okay, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but they did end up at the lake eventually.
So I planned a meal that involved fresh catfish. And I waited for said fish to arrive in the hands of my hubby. Said fish did not arrive until 8:30pm, and by that time I had succombed to my hunger and defrosted some leftover spaghetti sauce. The catfish will be consumed tonight provided he gets home before midnight. Seriously. It could be midnight. It's been a week like that.
While eating my spaghetti sauce I realized I hadn't yet posted that recipe here and I decided that was a situation I need to remedy. This is not your typical marinara spaghetti sauce. This is a thick, hearty meat sauce that needs time to simmer and let the flavors meld. Try it on a weekend when you have time to relax and let it happen.
Here's what you need:
1 pound Italian sausage (mild or sweet)
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 6 ounce cans tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Here's what you do:
Remove the casings from the sausage and tear it into small chunks. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat until it's very hot. Add the sausage and cook until brown. Resist the temptation to stir it around too much. You want to get some of that lovely dark brown crust on it. Drain the sausage and set aside.
Add the ground beef to the skillet and let it cook until brown. Again, don't stir it too much. I break up the block of meat a little bit and then move it around every now and then until it's cooked evenly. Drain the ground beef and set aside.
Heat a large pot (I use my 8 quart so I have plenty of room) over medium heat. Once the pot is hot add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Drop in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not brown.
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Sidenote: Have you seen Pioneer Woman's post on how to chop an onion? I love this method and I use it all the time. Super Easy!
Sidenote 2: Have you noticed yet how often I mention Pioneer Woman? I need therapy.
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Once the onion is tender add the garlic and cook until fragrant (no more than 1 minute).
I should mention here that 4 cloves is merely a suggestion. I can't remember the last time I only used 4 cloves of garlic in my sauce. In my opinion there is no such thing as too much garlic. Does anyone have a mint? Seriously though, fresh garlic will mellow as it cooks and this sauce will simmer for awhile so don't be afraid. Embrace the garlic!
PS...If you don't have a garlic press you need one. That's all I have to say about that.
So now you have tender onion and fragrant garlic and you're going to dump the crushed and diced tomatoes into the pot. Don't drain anything. Just dump it in juices and all. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.
Add the red wine, sugar, basil, fennel seeds (trust me, don't skip this!), Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
Stir in the sausage and ground beef, lower the heat to low, cover the pot, and walk away. Don't touch it for at least 30 minutes. At that point you can start your taste testing and add extra seasoning as needed. You'll probably want to add salt and pepper, but depending on what kind of wine you use it might not need extra salt. Sometimes I throw in some oregano if I'm feeling feisty.
After it's simmered for about an hour uncover, stir, and let it simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes or until it thickens to the consistency you like. The condensation from the lid is going to have added quite a bit of liquid so this could take some time depending on how thick you like it.
About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve the sauce add a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley.
Serve over penne, farfalle, or another chunky pasta sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
This recipes makes a ton of sauce, so invite a crowd. Or you could keep it all to yourself and freeze the leftovers. Either way......Enjoy!
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