I've been working on my pasta sauce recipe for quite a while, fine-tuning it, and this is about the best I've come up with. It's all original (except for the one jar), and I don't get many complaints.
I spent five hours this morning making this, it'll be even better on Christmas day.
Use wooden or plastic utensils if possible, to avoid that metallic taste that results from the tomato acids reacting with metal spoons.
For vegetarian sauce, just omit the meat and use both beans and chick peas.
1 jar store-bought pasta sauce (I like Classico brand, and I can re-use the glass jars)
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
6 bay leaves
Basil to taste
Hot sauce to taste
Salt to taste
2-3 large white onions, cut to preferred size
8 oz raw mushrooms, diced
1 head garlic, cloved & diced
4 oz olive oil
1.5-2 lb diced steak (I used top round today)
1 can black beans or garbanzos (I prefer the black beans)
1 can white corn
1 can diced black olives
1 1/2 cups diced baby carrots
Throw all tomato products in a large pot, set to low until it starts to simmer (20-30 minutes). Rinse containers into pot.
Add two tablespoons peanut butter and 1 teaspoon sugar to base (the "secret ingredients").
Heat oil, add onions, garlic & mushrooms in large skillet and cook till clear, 15 minutes or so. Add to base. Don’t lose simmer.
Heat meat in 12 oz seasoned water (salt, hot sauce, dash of garlic powder) until almost cooked. Add to base. Stir frequently.
Cook carrots in separate pot till almost done, then add.
Simmer 1 hour. Stir every 5-10 minutes. Add hot or boiling water as necessary to maintain consistency.
Rinse beans, then heat beans, corn and olives in saucepan. When near steaming, add to base. Don't add the liquid.
Simmer at least one more hour. Stir and start removing bay leaves as they get spotted.
Cook preferred pasta to directions. I like trii-colored rotini.
This is more than enough sauce for at least two pounds of uncooked pasta (makes almost 6 quarts). After it cools a bit, I put it in jars and refrigerate it, we'll eat it off and on about three days.
Cover pasta with sauce to taste, put enough parmesan cheese on it to choke a large dog, and top that with a garnish of parsley and paprika. Hot sauce as desired, of course. We usually stay away from the heavily buttered toast and have pretzel rods on the side.
Servings: 15-20
Total time: four + hours.
Total cost: $25-30
Total taste: Cannot be measured
We like it around here.
