I have a thing about spaghetti noodles. I don’t like them. There’s something about the shape and the way
it doesn’t hold sauce that distracts me.
Ridiculous, I know. But I like to
pay attention to that kind of thing. It’s the perfectionist in me that I can’t
seem to suppress. The way I see it,
why not make a simple change, like the type of pasta, and arrive at a result that much closer to perfection? No distractions. Just pleasant-looking, sauce absorbing, delicious,
reassuring pasta.
With that said, I LOVE ‘spaghetti sauce!’ This recipe really is closer to a Bolognese,
so, I’ve renamed it Red Pasta for the sake of simplicity. But by George, feel free to use whatever your favorite shape
and size of pasta is and call it whatever the hell you want!
This red pasta sauce is thick and sumptuous, packed with
veggies and meat and deep, rich flavor.
Good to know:
Marinara Sauce – a simple, tomato-based sauce with
basil and garlic.
Spaghetti Sauce – an “Americanism” for a basic red
pasta sauce normally served with spaghetti pasta.
Bolognese – a tomato and meat sauce made with onion,
carrots, celery, beef & pork.
Puttanesca – a tomato sauce with anchovies, chili
flakes, olives and capers, named after ‘women of the night.’
4 slices of bacon
1 lb. of ground Italian sausage
1 onion, diced
4 medium-sized carrots, diced
4 ribs of celery, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C. of your favorite red wine
1 jar of pasta sauce (like garlic & onion OR use several
Tablespoons of tomato paste)
1 28 oz. can of tomatoes
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Basil, julienned (thin strips), to garnish
Bacon, crumbled to garnish
Italian sausage, to garnish
Parmesan, to garnish
Your favorite pasta, cooked al dente
In a large pot, cook the bacon over medium-low heat. By cooking over low heat, you will render all
that fat from the bacon, which will help give this sauce even more depth. Remove the bacon when it’s chewy and cooked
through.
Add the Italian sausage to the bacon grease and cook over
medium heat, stirring the meat to break it into pieces. When it has turned brown, remove the sausage
and set in a bowl to rest. Add the diced
onion, carrots and celery to the bacon and sausage grease. Cook this trinity of vegetables (called
mire-poix in French, pronounced “meer-pwa”) over medium heat, stirring
occasionally. You want them to turn
translucent and start to brown. Do not
let them burn. Add the garlic and stir
to mix it into the veggies. Cook until
it’s fragrant – less than a minute.
Add the wine to the veggies and bring the mixture to a
boil. Turn down the heat slightly and
let the mixture simmer until the wine has reduced and thickened and coats the
veggies, about 7 minutes. *As Ina says, choose
a wine that you would actually drink. If
you don’t, then you wont want to eat it either.
If you absolutely HATE red wine, choose a bold white wine like
Chardonnay. It will stand up to the
strong meat flavors. Really, you’re just
looking for depth of flavor.
Once the wine has reduced, add the canned tomatoes and the
pasta sauce. Add the Italian sausage
back to the pot as well, reserving just enough to garnish at the end. Stir to combine and turn the heat to
low. Let this sauce cook for about 30
minutes to all day long. The longer it
cooks, the better it tastes. If it
starts to get too thick, just add a bit of water. Taste it along the way as well and season
with salt and pepper, if needed.
When you’re ready to eat, cook your pasta to al dente. This just means that it’s still got a bite to
it so it’s not mushy and saturated with water.
You know, like those awful noodles you find in cans of chicken noodle
soup!
I like to drain my noodles thoroughly and then add them
right to the sauce. This way each and
every bite of pasta gets coated by sauce.
To garnish, sprinkle with the reserved Italian sausage and bacon, Parmesan
cheese and basil. Serve with garlic
bread.
Squisita!
*This makes a ton of pasta sauce, so eat some and store the rest in the freezer for later.
