After eating too much beans, nachos, tacos and quesadillas in Mexico, spaghetti was a real nice change! I used to serve this sauce over dried pasta but if you can get your hands on fresh —it really makes a HUGE difference! Buon Appetito!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of ground beef (I use Italian sausages sometimes instead but feel free to use ground chicken, pork, or turkey!)
- olive oil for cooking
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 8 ounces of white button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon of red chile pepper, crushed (using the tip of your fingers)
- 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- salt and pepper to season
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1/2 cup of white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
- 1 (28-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano tomatoes)
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
- parmesan cheese, shaved for garnish
Preparation:
In a medium pot over medium high heat add a little bit of olive oil and ground beef. Crumble and brown meat. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer meat into a bowl. Set aside. Remove any grease left in the pot.
Drizzle in olive oil and add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until onions and mushrooms soften then add bay leaf, red chile pepper, oregano, basil and green bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Then add tomato paste and mix it around in the pot. Pour the white wine and let it bubble and reduce. About 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar and cooked ground beef. Stir to combine. Cover pot and let it simmer for 30-45 minutes. Stir occasionally. I like my spaghetti sauce thick so feel free to add water or a can of stock if you prefer a looser consistency. After simmering, add parsley and stir. At this point the sauce is ready. Discard bay leaf and check for seasoning. Serve this over fresh garlic spaghetti. Garnish with finely chopped parsley and shaved
parmesan cheese.
uni homemaker 
lovely and constructive blog ;)just followed! keep it up xx
Thank you so much! 🙂
Making me hungry.
I got a bit hungry myself as I was publishing it. 😉
looks delish…just give me some crusty garlic bread and i’m a happy girl..lovely as always..sarah
Awww.. thanks Sarah! 🙂
I cant waiting…im.all ready hungry Anne!!!
Thanks Massi! 🙂
Beautiful pasta dish!
Thanks Jan!
This is making me very hungry. Your pasta looks amazing..nice change from the Mexican food!
Thanks Barb! I love fresh garlic spaghetti with this. It was amazing! Definitely a nice change from 5 days of Mexican food. 🙂
Now I know how to use up my leftover lean Italian salami. This is gonna be delish!
Ooooooh! Would love to see your post!
Heaven on a dish!! Looks so good. I have been craving spaghetti. Yours looks absolutely wonderful : )
Thank you so much Judy! 🙂 It was wonderful with fresh garlic spaghetti!
Gorge, gorge, gorge, Anne! As in not “gorge” oneself, but as in “gorgeous”! But then again, with a dish that looks this delectable, it wouldn’t be difficult to do just that 😉
I like that you added the addition of just that tiny bit of sugar, which I suspect is to cut down on the acidity/sour-ness of the tomato — it’s those extra little touches that make a great sauce, and a great meal, period =)
Great post as always, Anne, great job!
Thanks Christina for such lovely comment! 🙂 Yes, the sugar is to cut down the acidity in the tomatoes. I would have used more sugar if they were non San Marzano tomatoes.
Pasta is certainly our go to meal of choice 🙂 Thanks for posting this recipe!
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
For me, the best part of using fresh pasta is that it has so much less starch than the dry stuff. Back in my college years when I cooked pasta and naturally screwed it up, I’d end up eating slimy, sticky, mushy noodles. Yuck!
And it cooks up quick. Usually 1 minute –you can put dinner on the table in no time! 😉