So what could be new and different about spaghetti sauce?
Well, I have to tell you. If you have been getting by with opening a jar of
spaghetti sauce from the store, and you think that it tastes OK, you may or may
not like this sauce. Why? Because this one is packed full of extra vegetables,
and it comes with a little “bite” (from the jalapenos). Don’t let that stop you from trying it.
You can easily tone down the heat by reducing the amount of jalapenos.
And who is Uncle Ken?
He was the most amazing man. He is my dad’s uncle, my great uncle, and my
grandma’s next-to-youngest brother. He lived into his 90’s, as most of my
grandma’s siblings did. He worked
as an accountant his whole life. I got to know him after he retired, but even
in retirement, he still read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal,
along with his local newspaper, every day. He kept up with several news
magazines, and could strike up a conversation about nearly any topic.
One day Uncle Ken was talking about the special spaghetti
sauce that he and his wife Til used to make and serve to company. He said the sauce needed to simmer
three to four hours, but it was worth the time and effort. When I asked for more details, he generously
shared the recipe. I took a few
liberties with the recipe, so you can play around with the recipe, too, and
make it to your liking (I included both the original recipe and my tweaks). Uncle
Ken and Aunt Til liked the sauce quite hot, but we prefer it more on the mild
side with just a tiny “bite”.
Uncle Ken’s Spaghetti Sauce
1-2 pounds ground beef (he used 2 pounds, I generally use 1)
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 quarts tomatoes, chopped fine (I use 2 28-ounce cans whole
tomatoes)
5-10 rings jalapenos from a jar, chopped (he used 3 fresh
jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine; I use 5 rings of the jar kind)
1 cup finely-chopped celery (I use 2-3 ribs, chopped)
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 4-ounce cans mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
(I also add 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning toward the end
of cooking)
(optional: Parmesan cheese, grated)
In non-stick skillet, brown the ground beef and drain fat
from beef by placing on paper towels.
In the same skillet used for the beef, sauté the onions and garlic until
they are translucent (not brown).
Meanwhile, using
your blender or food processor, blend (puree) together one quart of
tomatoes with the celery and jalapenos (you’re going to be doing this twice if
you have a typical-sized blender—it doesn’t all fit). Pour the first tomato-vegetable mix into large Dutch-oven-sized
saucepan and start heating on a medium-low setting. Again with the blender,
blend the second quart of tomatoes with the green pepper. Add this mix to the
saucepan.
Now add the mushrooms, sugar, salt, browned ground beef,
cooked onions and garlic to the saucepan; stir and simmer on low for 2-3 hours
(I usually only simmer it for one hour).
Add the Italian seasoning if desired near the end of cooking. Start cooking your spaghetti or other
pasta when the sauce is almost done.
This makes enough for 8-10 servings (should be enough to
cover 1.5 pounds of thin spaghetti – I like lots of sauce). I usually make 2 meals out of it for both
my husband and I, and freeze the extra sauce for later meals.
Nutrition information per one-tenth of the sauce (about 1.5
cups sauce, not including pasta):
Uncle Ken’s version with more meat: 246 calories, 12 grams
fat, 10 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 21 grams protein, 65 milligrams
cholesterol, 394 milligrams sodium.
My version with less meat: 151 calories, 6 grams fat, 10
grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 12 grams protein, 32 milligrams cholesterol,
399 milligrams sodium.
