Joe was feeling a strong hankering for "real" sauce. Summertime quickies use a lot of fresh or Pomì tomatoes, straight from the box and with light seasoning. For him, though, there's nothing like the thick blend that results from simmering a meat sauce for a couple of hours. That's for a small amount. Back in the day, the big sauce pot would be filled to the brim, to bubble away for all of a Sunday afternoon. I must admit that I enjoyed it, though I'm usually more of a marinara girl. Actually, I love the pasta plain, straight from the boiling water. But the tantalizing aromas, this fall afternoon, really got to my senses.
My sauce is simple - minus the pork, mushrooms and other ingredients that many use. Just tons of roughly chopped garlic sautéed in my best EVOO, some fine ground beef, Pomì's, balsamic vinegar or wine, dried parsley and oregano, pepper, a touch of sugar, fresh basil if available, and one more fabulous ingredient....
In days of old, Gran used to add tomato paste to enhance the flavor. Not I. My preference is to chop about one-half cup of sun-dried tomatoes and add them to the simmering sauce (this amount per two boxes of tomatoes). Their texture is perfectly soft, after cooking. They remain my secret ingredient... till now, that is.
Buon Appetito.
