Stand-A-Spoon-Up Spaghetti
Talk about delicious. A little sweet, very spicy, chunky, and no joke: stand-a-spoon up thick. This is how spaghetti sauce should be. Far from “egg noodles and ketchup” (quote by Henry Hill upon witness relocation, about the sad state of local spaghetti – “Goodfellas”).
2 onions, chopped
6 tbsp roasted garlic, minced
1 cup whole flat-leaf parsley, stemmed
1 large (29oz) can diced tomatoes
1 large can tomato sauce
1 pkg sweet italian sausage
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pkg hot italian sausage
1/2 cup carrot
1 cup celery
1 1/2 tsbp sage
3 1/2 tbsp basil
4 1/2 tbsp oregano
1 1/2 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tbsp cayenne
1 1/2 tbsp black pepper
7 habaneros, whole, topped
1 12oz beer
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium to large pot, add olive oil and heat. Add garlic and onion, sautee until they begin to brown. Add sausages, then stir and continue to stir well as they brown. Add remaining ingedients except tomato products, beer and sugar. Continue stirring until vegetables begin to soften.
Use your beer and to slow the cooking, by reducing heat to low and adding the beer to the pot. Add tomato products and sugar, continuing at a slow simmer.
At any point after an hour or so of simmering, but prior to serving, move the sauce to a blender or food processor and blend until it’s smooth (I prefer mine a little chunkier). Return to the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally.
I simmered mine 14 hours. Make sure you get at least a full afternoon in. I served the sauce with 1 box of cooked whole wheat fettucini noodles, 8oz of shredded mozarella and 6oz parmesan cheeses – baked 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
Yield: I was able to add plenty of sauce to my main dish, freeze 6 cups for later, and kept another 2 cups to use later on this week (whatever strikes my fancy). This is a lot of sauce for very little effort.
What a sad omission! 1 6oz can tomato paste. It wouldn’t be nearly as thick without it…