Spaghetti sauce

[toggleswitch]

Bolognese meat- sauce a la Greque.

1.5 pounds (1/2 kilo) ground beef
1 onion
2 cups tomato sauce or puree (16 oz or just under 500ml) or equivalent.
2 cups water.
spices

In a small amount of oil saute a diced onion.
Add meat, sear on high heat. Break up and smash with a fork, nearly constantly. When no longer pink..
add tomato sauce/puree
add water

Add spices, salt, pepper hint of oregano, parsley, moderate to little basil, CINNAMON. (If you are cheating by using a jar-ed sauce omit spices except cinnamon.)

If you want to add a little red wine, reduce water by equivalent amount.

Simmer for about 45 minutes partially uncovered or until water evaporates.

Note: If pure red tomato sauce in any of the above recipes kills your stomach due to the acidity, add two TUMS pills to the pot near the end of cooking time.
[acid + base (alkaline) yields salt + water]. Acid gone & neutralized.

 

[58limited]

Diomede - Very informative. I especially found interesting your advice on not mixing onion and garlic, which is very commonly done here in the U.S.

One way I've found to easily peel tomatoes is to roast them on the stove over my gas burner: I just hold one in tongs over the flame, turning until the skin cracks and singes, then it peels right off and you get a great roasted flavor.

My parents are coming to Italy for 17 days in March - I wish I could come with them, but I can't afford the trip or the time off from work. I'm going to have them send me a bunch of wine from various regions, as well as olive oil.

 

[~sudsshane]

that crock pot simmering yet veg? =)

 

[sudsmaster]

I test pasta by biting off a bit. If the center is still uncooked, it will look pale and like flour. When that white core just disappears, it's done. Any more cooking and it will be overcooked.

Never heard of a ban on mixing onions and garlic. IMHO, they go together wonderfully and don't give me any more problem than other foods. Ditto for mixing meat and vegetables - I think they go together quite well, as in many stir-fry dishes. And after all, the Chinese invented pasta . Must be cultural traditions.

I'm intriqued by the quick method for making the tomato sauce, though. Makes a lot of sense. Sauteing the veggies, garlic, onions, etc and then adding the tomato "sauce" to that makes a lot of sense. I've probably been cooking my pasta sauce waaaay too long; there's really no need for it, I suppose.

 

[agiflow]

I have heard that southern Italy had pasta before Marco Polo came back to Italy with it...anyway...i always use onion and garlic also...they have an affinity for each other, and the house smells so good also

 

[panthera]

onions and garlic...

Dio mio!
Well, ok, maybe, perhaps, just barely. But oh ye gods and little fishes...garlic burns soooo easily and then turns bitter.
And not, please, not, one of those horrid garlic crushers.
I never add garlic until the "hot" cooking is finished, at most a quick spin in hot oil.
Although I do have a cousin who does one hell of a good onion soup with aioli on crispy bread floating on top.
Oh, and for you food snobs out there: The best Italian pizza I ever had was not in Italy, but Chicago.

 

[58limited]

Panthera

Interestingly, one of the best pizzas I've had was in Wurzburg, Germany at a bar called Krambuli when I was there in 1991.

I've had several very good pizzas here in Texas at restaurants that use wood fired pizza ovens, so I'm in the process of building one for myself.

As far as garlic burning when sauteing with onoins, I add the garlic a few minutes after I start the onions. This prevents it from burning before the onions are done.

 

[panthera]

David,

There are a few decent pizza joints in Germany, not many. Most are about on the level of Pizza Hut or worse.
But the towns which had lots of American soldiers usually had/have some decent eating. Munich pretty much lost all the good down home cooking by 1989, sadly.
Garlic at the end works, I guess it is just not something I know from the Italian cuisine I grew up with. But, hey - there is more variation and creativity in 50 kilometers of Italy than in the rest of the world combined when it comes to good food.

 

[vivalalavatrice]

Good...

I said that about onion and garlic as a prompt...generally here they're not mixed together in the same meal... but you have to feel free to do as you flavours are!

To easily and fastly do a Home-made-tomate-sauce, you have to choice a very good quality of tomatoes... the best quality here is called Cirio just as the firm which sell them in the tins (the oval shaped, not the shperic one, and RED!).

1. Peal tomatoes! You cand do it easier using hot water... or a knite only
2. Boil tomatoes "a cubetti", it means cut tomatoes in quarts...
3. After 15 min circa of boiling, liquidize everything, I mean the tomatoes dropped, the boiling water have to be disposed.

DONE! You can use now your tomato sauce for any meal you want such as Ragù (adding meat, carrots, onions...), or save it in bottle... it will good for a week "in frigo"...but a bit of basil would be good either!

No sugar is needed in this case because there won't be any acidity... I'm sure!

Pasta need a lot of water and very few minutes (7-10 min) to be cooked "al dente"! 4-5 litres of water per kilo of pasta...then spaghettis are just the kind of pasta which cook in the shortest time...5 minutes!!!!

Pizza? I ate it so many times than now I hate it... yes here I love pasta and I have it every day, but for me 2 pizzas a month is enouhg!

BYE
Diomede

PS: Guys, if you want some Italian recipes, I'll be glade indeed to give it to you!

 

[panthera]

Diomede,

We want!
Definitely!
Please?

 

[58limited]

Diomede,

Yes, please post some recipes.

Thanks!

 

[sudsmaster]

Diomede,

We call those pear shaped tomatoes by their varietal name, "Roma". Or, "sauce tomatoes". I have grown them in my backyard, and they can be very good. I have also used the round ones - grown in back yard also - and aside from being a bit too watery they are also good. But I am cooking them in a sauce, not in oil, so I can boil them down to reduce the liquid.

I hate the aroma of burnt garlic. I used to live upstairs from a couple who habitually burnt garlic in their kitchen. I grew to hate that smell. Usually I chop the garlic with a knife (not difficult) and then add it to vegetables as they steam, with pehaps a serrano hot pepper as well.

Do you ever make a pasta sauce with dried beans?

 

[vivalalavatrice]

Oh..THANKS! )

As soon as I found some spare time to have some interesting receips I'll translate for you... better wuold be to give my "Libro rosso di mamma", a red book where my mother use to collect receips whereever she found them... she's been collecting them since I was born, so it's 23 y.o.!!!

I add some of mine too there, anyway!LOL!

To don't provocate the "stink" of burnt garlic... keep it under view while it's frying, but overall...DON'T USE THE GREEN AIM!Throuw away the very little green line in the earth of the garlic...that's the responsible of "bad breath"...

BYE! And have a nice PASTA!
Diomede

 

[veg-o-matic]

The Crock Pot simmered.

I made a batch of Shane's recipe and it was quite delicious, despite the fact that I couldn't find any Red Pack tomatoes other than the puree (which isn't the same as crushed, apparently.) I definitely want to try it again with the "correct" love apples.

Got two quarts in the freezer, too. Like money in the bank.

veg

 

[~sudsshane]

ahh...Veg~

Glad you liked it!! Not sure where your location is, but you can use RedGold which is the parent company of RedPack. Also, Muir Glen and Pastene canned tomatoes and puree would be acceptable options as well.
Enjoy the sauce!

=)