Meat Sauce

 

I hope you all enjoyed the fresh pasta sauce. That is a sauce I only make once a year.

Tonight I will give you my recipe for a basic meat sauce. It can be used on many different pastas for a variety of tastes.

 

Ingredients needed:

• Ground beef, about a pound
• 1 large jar of Ragu meat sauce
• Bag of frozen peas. (I like baby peas)
• Salt, sugar, oregano, and granulated garlic
• Whole, peeled garlic
• Capers if desired

 

Start by frying the ground beef, adding salt, oregano, and garlic to taste.

In a large saucepan, pour in the Ragu. Add ½ jar of water and bring to a boil. Add in salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar and about ½ a bag of peas. You could also use a handful of capers. Add some oregano and 2-3 cloves of garlic.

Once the ground beef is fried up, add to the sauce and simmer for about 1 or 2 hours. Stir frequently or it will stick and burn

 

This sauce works best on rotini, fettuccini, and cavatelli.

This is also the sauce I use for making baked ziti. I will give that recipe in a future blog.

 

Enjoy, feel free to contact me for any questions.

@rem_mama on Twitter

Mama Rem’s twitter

Homemade Tomato Sauce

This is my first attempt at a blog and as requested by Rem, I will attempt to put out a recipe for my fresh tomato sauce. I have been attempting to make this sauce for
many years and I think that we have finally gotten the right procedure.

First, and most important, is to buy the proper tomato press. Papa Rem and I have tried many types over the years, even buying one in Italy, but last year we found the
perfect one on Amazon. It is called The Farm to Table Tomato Press and will fit on the counter and not move.

Ingredients that you will need:

1. Depending on how much you want to make, we usually start with a bushel of fresh plum tomatoes. Look closely and make sure they are fresh and have few bruises.
2. One onion
3. Salt, garlic cloves (buy the ones already peeled as that will save a lot of time), sugar, fresh basil, and capers.

Procedure:

• Rinse the tomatoes in cold water, cutting out any obvious bruises, leave the stems in unless you want to take the time – I dont.
• Place the tomatoes in a large pan, I usually use 2 so they are not crowded.
• Cut up half an onion into each pan and fill with cold water.
• Bring to a boil and slow boil until the skins begin to peel off.
• This is very important – drain the tomatoes in colanders for about 2 hours, that gets rid of all the extra water. This will allow for a thicker sauce.
• Now this is Papa Rem’s job – put the tomatoes through the tomato press, the sauce goes into a pan, the skins go into another bowl.
• You have put the skins through the press at least 2 times, again getting all the tomato pulp you can.

Now it’s time to cook the sauce:

• Put it all into a large enough pan to allow it to do a slow simmer.
• Add your garlic. I use a large container of peeled garlic that you can find in your local market. (I hate peeling Garlic LOL )
• Add salt. I usualy start with 3 tablespoons then add more to taste as it cooks. Then add your sugar. This year I put a good 2 tablespoons in. You can adjust as you like.
• Now put in capers. I use the unsalted ones which we get from Sicily every year. You will need about 2 palmfulls. Again adjust to your own taste.
• Bring to a boil then lower to a slow simmer, stirring frequently so it does not burn on the bottom (I have ruined more sauce because I was cooking too high and did not stir enough). Cook for about 2 hours then add your fresh basil and simmer for at least another hour.
• While it is simmering taste the sauce. You might need to add salt or sugar.
• After it cools a bit we divide it into containters or freezer bags. You should have enough for several meals.

Good luck, have fun, and if you have a question please feel free to contact me @rem_mama on twitter or send an email to RichDickmanShow@gmail.com!