- 6
Ingredients
- 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1/4 c. tomato paste
- 1 T. Worcestershire
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 t. dried oregano
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can low-sodium chicken broth (or beef broth)
- 1 t. salt
- 3 c. water
- 1 lb. spaghetti, broken in half
- 1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 c. minced fresh basil (one .66 o
Preparation
Step 1
One of my favorite go-to meals of all time is definitely spaghetti with meat sauce. I'm not even that picky about it, I'm pretty happy just mixing a little sauteed ground beef into some jarred tomato sauce, pouring it over cooked pasta and I'm golden. I used to make it all the time, just that way, calling it my own version of hamburger helper, until one day, my husband (who by the way is not at all a picky eater) informed me that my trusty spaghetti meals "were not his favorite" (translated = a kind way of saying, not a fan!).
Oh... But, how can you not like spaghetti?? His answer was pretty reasonable actually - 1.) Not enough sauce (one jar of sauce to one lb. of spaghetti. This I am in agreement with). 2.) That weird pool of liquid that collects at the bottom of your plate when you start with a pile of plain spaghetti on your plate, then ladle sauce over the top. 3.) Bland noodles - ok, disclaimer on that one, I happen to love plain pasta, and I am always sure my water is well-salted when I make pasta, but I get what he's saying, the sauce and the spaghetti remain separate entities, never really becoming "one".
Well, not wanting to give up on my favorite spaghetti dinner so easily, I needed to come up with a spaghetti dinner that would please everybody. My answer came when I remembered that my husband loves a recipe I make often for skillet spaghetti and meatballs, where meatballs, sauce and spaghetti are all cooked together in one skillet. The sauce becomes thick and creamy from the starch that gets released from the pasta during cooking, and because the pasta gets cooked through right in the sauce = no bland pasta. I had a hunch this technique would be one that should be fairly easy to translate to my favorite spaghetti with meat sauce. And luckily it was just that.
This is a pretty straight-forward recipe. Aromatic vegetables are sauteed, ground meat is added and browned, then herbs, garlic, tomato paste and Worcestershire are stirred in to enhance the flavors. Add in some crushed canned tomatoes and chicken broth and let everything simmer for about 15 minutes to develop the flavor of the sauce. Finally, add the spaghetti and a little extra cooking liquid to account for the water that absorbs into the spaghetti, and to finish, a good cup of grated Parmesan is added, along with a handful of chopped fresh basil.
Heat oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering, add the onion and bell pepper. Saute until the vegetables start to brown around the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef, cook, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon until the meat completely looses it's raw color, about another 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly until the tomato paste is evenly dispersed into the meat, continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the bottom of the pot starts to turn brown, about 3-4 minutes total.
Add the canned tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer sauce for 15 minutes. Add the water and salt, return to a simmer and add the spaghetti. Cover the pot and simmer the spaghetti and sauce, stirring thoroughly every few minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a lively simmer, about 20 minutes, or until the pasta is tender to your liking. Off heat, add the grated Parmesan and basil.
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