Okay, my 100% Italian grandmother's sauce was pretty good. Made from canned tomatoes, and mainly flavored w/ sausages and dried herbs/ powders. But my 100% Hungarian grandmother made better sauce, as it was also flavored w/ pork ribs
BUT, I'm afraid to say I have been able to improve upon their sauces a bit by adding some onion or mirepoix (sp?), fresh garlic, wine, etc.
Here is the basic sauce recipe they both used (and that I grew up making as taught by my mother):
- Brown sausages and meatballs in a heavy pot (7 quart size is good) and remove, leaving some of the oil/ fat.
- Add ~4 quarts of canned tomato puree (canned by relatives). If you do not have access to something like this, use cans of whole peeled tomatoes pureed in a blender.
- Add a tablespoon or so of tomato paste.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons of salt.
- Add dried oregano, parsley and basil (~ 1 tablespoon each).
- Add garlic powder and onion powder (~ 1 teaspoon each).
- Once simmering, add the sausages and meatballs back in (and ribs, if you got 'em!).
- Simmer the f**k out of it, for at least 3 hours. Skim off fat if excessive (I prefer to stir it back in :O) This simmering is mainly to thicken the sauce.
- Let it sit until the next day. You did start this on Saturday, didn't you???
- Bring it back to a boil and lower to a simmer for another hour or so before serving.
Please bear in mind their recipes were developed at a time when it was difficult getting the fresh ingredients we take for granted today. Think 1940s, war-time... But it stuck with them, and was passed down to the next generation. Here is my typical sauce:
- Brown sausages and meatballs in a heavy pot (7 quart size is good) and remove, leaving some of the oil/ fat.
- Saute a diced onion, or go all-out with a mirepoix, using a fine dice for the carrots, onions and celery. I tend to go with ~1/2 cup onion and 1/4 cup each carrots and celery.
- **Optional** Near the end of the saute, add in ~1-1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste and get it carmalizing a little bit.
- Near the end of the saute add in a few cloves of minced garlic and 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Let cook for ~30 seconds, being careful not to let the garlic or pepper flakes burn.
- Add ~4 quarts of canned tomato puree (canned by relatives). If you do not have access to something like this, use cans of whole peeled tomatoes pureed in a blender.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons of salt.
- Add dried oregano, parsley and basil (~ 1 tablespoon each). Can also go for fresh instead; if so, save them for the last half hour of cooking.
- Once simmering, add the sausages and meatballs back in (and ribs, if you got 'em!).
- Simmer the f**k out of it, for at least 3 hours. Skim off fat if excessive (I prefer to stir it back in :O) This simmering is mainly to thicken the sauce.
- Let it sit until the next day. You did start this on Saturday, didn't you???
- Bring it back to a boil and lower to a simmer for another hour or so before serving. Add in ~3/4 cup of red wine for the last half hour of cooking.
Both versions produce a pretty heavy sauce that is very flavorful (thanks to the pork products). It may be a bit too much for some lighter pastas, although it's the only kind of pasta sauce I knew for the first 20 years of my life so I did not know any better :cool2: