This is a classic recipe we have been making in our Italian family for years. I am sure I have made a few adjustments to it during the years, but it is quite close to my mother’s original recipe. 

 

There is a comfort in spaghetti and meat sauce, and I wouldn’t eat it any other way than this. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, and you never go back to a jarred sauce or one at a restaurant that is lacking in flavor. Home-cooked is the way to go!

 

Yield 6 servings

 

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground beef

½ lb, ground spicy Italian sausage

3 - 15oz cans of tomato sauce

1 - 6oz can tomato paste

1 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried sage

½ tsp salt 

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup red wine 

 

In a large pot on medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Once heated, sauté the onions and the celery until they are soft. Add in the garlic and continue sautéing for one minute. Remove the mixture from the pan and set it to the side.

 

In the pot, cook the ground beef and Italian sausage on medium-high heat until the meat is cooked through and browned. Strain the fat from the meat and place it back in the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the tomato sauce and paste to the meat, and stir. Next, add the parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, salt, pepper, and red wine to the pot and stir to combine. Simmer the sauce, without a lid, for 2 hours, occasionally stirring. If the sauce starts to simmer too fast, reduce the heat. 

 

After two hours, taste the sauce and add more salt to your liking, if needed. 

 

Serve over pasta of your choice and pair with a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. 

 

Just Salt It, and enjoy!