Tasty Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

If your family is Italian and you've ever tried to make a homemade spaghetti sauce recipe... Chances are after everyone has eaten it; one of the older ladies will take you aside and give you the "old family recipe" for spaghetti sauce.

 

 

Don't despair and think that yours was no good, it's often the other way around, yours may have been so good that it would show up hers. That often happens, or it's just that the older women want to keep things the same without having any changes ever made.

Judge for yourself first and see if you like the following home made spaghetti sauce, and remember that nothing ever says that you cannot change a recipe to suit yourself!

Regardless of how you make yours, it's always going to taste much better than the canned or bottle variety!

 

 

Ingredients

This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe yields about 5 quarts.

• 1 large can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes
• 1 large can (28 oz) of tomato puree - in the UK use Passata
• 2 med cans (14.5 oz) Italian diced tomatoes
• 2 large cans of water
• 2 ribs celery, 1-2 carrots, 1 medium sized onion, 1 1/2 cup of mushrooms, 1/4 cup of sliced black olives
• 2 cups of red or pink wine (can be cooking variety)
• 1 tsp. (rounded) of well minced or chopped garlic
• Olive oil (3 tbls.)
• 2 tsp. of fresh dried basil
• 1 tsp. of fresh dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. of fresh dried marjoram
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of granulated sugar to taste
• Salt - to taste
• 2 small pinches of baking soda

 

 

Directions

1. Dice your vegetables finely including the celery, carrots and the onion.



2. Saute the vegetables in a large saucepot with the olive oil until translucent and soft. You may cover them and cook them on low heat for about 20-25 minutes if you wish.



3. Add garlic and cook for only a few min. You don't want garlic to burn.



4. Add the mushrooms, and olives at this point.



5. Add in all the tomatoes, water and salt to taste (Be careful not to oversalt it, as it will cook down and concentrate)



6. Add about 2 tsp of basil, 1 tsp of oregano. 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1 tsp of fresh dried marjoram



7. Bring sauce to a boil and turn down to simmer for about an hour with cover ajar to let steam evaporate.



8. Then add wine and if desired a little more basil and oregano to taste.



9. Add two pinches of baking soda. (Sauce will foam then will recede)



10. Add 1/4-1/2 cup granulated sugar, to taste



11. Simmer for about an hour more, stirring often to make sure that sugar does not make sauce stick to pot and burn.

 

If the consistency of the homemade spaghetti sauce is not thick enough you may add a bit of tomato paste until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Should the sauce be too tangy or if it tastes acidic, add another pinch of baking soda, but be sure and simmer for another hour if you do. Italians tell me that the longer you cook the sauce, the better it will be!

Variations

Various changes can be made to this homemade spaghetti sauce recipe if you so desire. Many have said that they use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.

Some have suggested adding in a cup of grated Parmesan cheese during the last 5 minutes of cooking, others have said that that will make it taste too sweet.

Some added bell peppers to the sauce. Others suggest port wine instead of the red or pink colored wine.

Another suggestion was sliced green olives instead of black olives. Italian seasoning was a common addition, and also oregano--more oregano!

Many seemed to dislike the baking soda, but just as many liked it. One person seemed to have added cornstarch and water to it, to thicken it even more.

Many doctored it up by adding more sugar as their family liked it sweeter. One person suggested adding a splash of balsamic vinegar to your homemade spaghetti sauce recipe.

Many people have said that it's just not Italian unless you use fresh tomatoes. Most of them recommend that if you do that you should hand squeeze the tomatoes prior to adding them to the cooked veggies and garlic. That makes sense, as you want all the watery goodness of the tomatoes to go into the sauce immediately so it has a chance to take in all the garlic and such right away.

By the way, homemade spaghetti sauce freezes very well, thus if you make more than your family can eat at one sitting, it's highly recommended that you freeze it and serve it another day.

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