Zappa Family Spaghetti Sauce
- Total Time
- 3 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Salt and pepper
- 1pound pork spareribs, neck bones or pork chops
- 1pound beef chuck roast, blade steak or brisket
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- ¾cup chopped onions
- 2cloves garlic, minced
- 16-ounce can tomato paste
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 1tablespoon dried basil
- 1teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt
- 1bay leaf
- 128-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably Italian
- 128-ounce can tomato sauce
- ½teaspoon sugar
- 2tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 4small or 2 large pickled peperoncini
- Cooked meatballs
- 1pound dried spaghetti for serving
- Grated Parmesan for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
516 calories; 15 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 62 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 977 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Sprinkle salt and pepper all over pork and beef. Place large pot over medium-high heat; when hot, add olive oil and brown meat. (Or cook meat in same pot used for meatballs, browning in the leftover fat.) Remove meat to a platter. Turning heat under pot to medium, add onions, and cook 3 minutes, stirring. Add garlic, and cook 2 minutes longer. Add tomato paste, and stir: cook until it absorbs fat in pan. Add oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, kosher salt and bay leaf, stirring to combine.
- Step 2
Add cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce, then 4½ cups water. Stir in sugar, parsley and peperoncini. Return meats to pot with their juices. Bring sauce to a gentle boil. Turn heat down to a simmer, partly cover and leave sauce to simmer 2½ hours or more, stirring regularly.
- Step 3
About 20 minutes before serving, add meatballs to pot. Boil spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, return spaghetti to pan and add 3 cups sauce. Toss pasta in pan for a minute to coat with sauce, and place on a large platter. Pour 2 more cups sauce over pasta. Place meat and meatballs on pasta, slicing large pieces. Serve with bowls of remaining sauce and Parmesan.
Private Notes
Comments
What happens to the pork and beef that have been browned?
This is one of my favorite spaghetti sauce and meatball recipes. I've been making this since 2011. There's a lot to it and it takes a while to get the job done, but it's worth the effort. I make the whole recipe so there are lots of leftovers to freeze for another day. Plus, there's the variety of serving it with meat as a ragu or a spaghetti and meatball dinner.
If you pass the canned tomatoes through a mill, it will take out all the seeds. It only takes a couple of minutes. The seeds make a sauce bitter and without them there is no need to add sugar to the sauce. BTW: spaghetti and meatballs are never served in Italy.
This is my favorite sauce... it's election night and I couldn't think of a better comfort food. Tonight I'm using spicy sausage from the local Italian store and will let it bubble on the stove for a few hours. (I broiled the sausage briefly, just to crisp up the outside before dropping into the pot.) The house smells fantastic!
What do you do with the meat? Look in the middle of step 2: "Return meats to pot with their juices."
We have stopped buying marinara sauce because of this recipe.
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