One of the first things I learned how to make was a killer meat sauce. It is truly a staple in our house and used in many traditional Greek recipes such as pastitsio and moussaka, and as a quick meal over my mom’s famous fried rice. I usually make a huge batch and then portion it out into containers and store in the freezer. This way, a delicious and hearty meal is only minutes away.
This is one of the easiest and most delicious meat sauce recipes you will ever try and it’s wonderful to eat with any type of pasta. If you prefer marinara sauces, just omit the meat — the sauce is that good. The recipe I have provided is for a single batch, so if you need to double it, it is not a problem. Just make sure you have plenty of room for your plastic containers in the freezer! If you like to have your sauce on the spicy side, just add some red pepper flakes or your favorite hot stuff to the sauce. This is such an easy sauce to make that you will never use a ready made pasta sauce again.
Meat Sauce
1# lean ground beef (or bison)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced finely
4 large garlic cloves, diced fine
1 large can crushed tomatoes (I prefer Hunt’s, 28oz can)
1 medium can petite diced tomatoes (I prefer Hunt’s, 14.5oz)
1- 8oz can tomato paste, plain
2 large dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons granulated sugar **optional, cuts the acidity
1 ½Tablespoons dried oregano (DO NOT use powder, use whole leaf crushed in your hand before adding)
1 Tablespoon dried parsley (or dried basil)
1 cup beef stock (or vegetable broth or water) **A portion of this may be added in as red wine, but not more than ½ cup
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese **Add last once you have cooked the sauce and have taken it off the heat, otherwise, the cheese will stick to the bottom of the pan.
S&P to taste (start with ¼ teaspoon of salt & pepper in the cooking of the meat, and you can add more at the end if you need to)
Heat olive oil in a stainless steel pot (I don’t like to use aluminum pots in cooking only my bake ware is aluminum). Finely dice onion and garlic and sauté in oil until translucent. Be careful that neither burns. Add ground meat and break up with a wooden spoon and add the salt and pepper. Once meat has cooked thru, add crushed tomatoes, petite diced tomatoes, 1 cup of liquid and tomato paste, stir well until paste has melted into liquid. Throw in the bay leaves, dried oregano, dried parsley (or basil), sugar and stir again until well mixed. Cover and simmer on very low heat for about 30-45 mins, stirring periodically to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. The sauce will start to thicken and come together beautifully. Take off heat and stir in grated parmesan cheese. At this point, check whether it needs more salt or pepper.
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