My boyfriend makes the most delicious wonderful incredible spaghetti sauce I have ever tasted. Once I had tasted this sauce I was never able to eat canned or storebought spaghetti sauce again because his recipe makes such sauce taste horrible by comparison. He got the recipe from an Italian woman.
I have done my best to get the recipe out of him but he won't give it. I have even spied on him while he's cooked the sauce. I've been able to observe that he puts a big load of very ripe Roma tomatoes into a large pot. He then puts a handful of fresh oregano, a handful of fresh basil, and several cloves of finely chopped garlic into the pot, then boils for an hour or more until it reaches the right consistency. However, I know there is one missing ingredient but I cannot figure out what that is. I have asked him repeatedly for this mysterious ingredient so I can post the recipe here for you.
"I want to post that recipe for your spaghetti sauce on the forum. I know you put a lot of tomatoes as well as oregano and basil and garlic in the pot, but what else do you use?"
"Can't tell you," he says, "it's top secret."
"Just tell me."
"NO."
"Why not?"
"It's top secret."
"Don't be so childish. Just tell me what else you put in the pot."
"NO."
"Why not?"
"There might be spies," he says.
One day I will find out what the ingredient is that makes his spaghetti sauce so wonderful. I suspect it might be simply the method he uses to cook the various ingredients before mixing them together. But one day I will get the complete recipe and then post it here for you all.
I'm sure it's the fresh herbs that make all the difference, Nanda - you could never get that flavour out of a tinned or bottled sauce.
He says that there's an art to it that is very complex.
Each and every Roma tomato that is destined for the pot needs to be picked carefully and examined as to whether or not it ripened on the vine or on the truck it was transported to market in. The tomato must be ttruly vine ripened. He says yellow or green spots indicate the tomato ripened in the truck, whereas if it was on the vine it will be deep red and squishy.
He also claims that if you are storing it for any length of time the fresh basil must be stored in the freezer where it gains a coating over each leaf that contains all the flavour of the herb. This herb must be thrown into the pot in the frozen state. He says of course it is better to use the nonfrozen fresh herb, but it must sometimes be stored and used as per his instructions.
I'm not exaggerating. Those are just two details of his cooking process making the sauce but apparently there is even more to the process and it is an art that can never be perfected enough.
I love my mom's pasta sauce. (Roma tomatoes, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, etc.) I have tried repeatedly for years to get my family to eat it. I grow Roma tomatoes and basil in my garden.
I give up.
I open a nice big jar of Ragu Traditional Sauce and they're ecstatically happy. :roll:
Basic Red Sauce for Pasta
(Canadians and Eurotrash beware of Standard Measurements)
I like to make this in Bulk, and it's a versatlie base for other sauces as well. It will keep indefinately in the Freezer, and you can get about a week to a week and a half of usage out of it if refrigerated
3 28-32 oz cans,or 1 #10 can Whole Tomatoes, (I Prefer Plum, or Italian Style*)
1/2 to 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 small cans Tomato Paste,( Again I prefer Roma Style*)
1 cup Red Wine (Preferably cheap and Italian, or from an Italian variety of grape)
1 Medium Onion, Diced
1 Bulb Garlic, Minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup Each of Dried Basil and Oregano (Your Tolerance may vary)
1/2 teaspoon crushed Fennel Seeds
1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Freshly ground Black Pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup Freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
Open cans of Tomatoes, and Drain, but save the juice. You will want two bowls to do this with. Crush the Drained tomatoes with your hands and then transfer the juice to the Juice bowl/ container.
Now open the cans of Tomato Paste, and mix the contents with the juice from the canned tomatoes. Make sure that this is stirred well, and of uniform Consistancy (No Lumps!)
Dice the onion, then Mince the Garlic ( Using a food processor greatly speeds up with the Garlic.
Dump the Wine in a large pot, and heat it over the stove. Bring the wine to a boil, and wait for smell of the evaporating alcohol to subside before adding the onion, spices and crushed tomatoes.
After you have combined the above ingredients, stir and let simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the juice/paste combo. Add the Garlic, and then blend in the olive oil. --Make sure that the olive Oil is thouroughly mixed in.
Cover this mixture with a lid and simmer over low heat, stir occasionally for about 1-3 hours. Then add the Romano Cheese, and stir it in thouroughly. Let this mixture simmer for about another 1/2 hour to an hour, before turning the burner off.
After this is done, you might want to get some pasta boiling. Just enough for yourself and whoever else may be eating.
Let the sauce cool down for about an hour or so before transferring to plastic containers for refrigeration/freezing.
* Roma, or Pear Tomatoes have a milder, sweeter taste, and are less acidic. You may also use regular tomatoes for a more robust flavor, or you can mix and match.
Tip for true bolognaise sauce
- Red wine is banned. It has nothing to do with the recipe. It creates a completely different taste. People make the mistake that this is what gives it the rich colour. It is cooking down slowly that does that. White wine can be used but suggest just a small amounts for deglazing pan each time.
- There is actually nothing called spaghetti bolognaise in bologna. Everything in bologna has 'of bologna' on the end so they call it ragú and typically serve it with tagliatelle. It shouldn't be swamped with tomato puree it is primarily a meat sauce. It contains minced beef but crucially also minced pork. It is this dynamic that gives it a meaty flavour and texture.
- You need to make something called Soffritto. It is a base form many sauces and contains contain different vegetables finely chopped. In this case carrots, onions and celery. Lightly fry in olive oil.
- Brown the minced meat in another pan
- Combine with deglazed juices. Add a small splash of single cream
- Add *small* amounts of tomato puree and stock
- You need to let it simmer slowly for at least 2 hours. The meat will begin to soften and break down and should take on a slightly darker colour