Grandma Ruth's Spaghetti Sauce (Spaghetti Bolognese)
This 30 minute recipe is a childhood favorite my great-grandmother would always make in an electric skillet rather than on the stove.
She told me that an "Old Italian Lady" told her to put Worchestershire sauce in her spaghetti sauce and I always thought this was her SECRET special recipe. I have to confess, I just recently learned this was her take on Spaghetti Bolognese.
I don't usually measure when I cook this and adjust the salt, pepper, Worchestershire & sugar to taste, so all measurements are approximate.
Ingredients:
1/4 lb bacon cut into 1/4" pieces
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium sweet onion - chopped
1 stalk celery chopped (optional)
2-3 cloves minced garlic
4 oz mushrooms - fresh or canned
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste - 6 oz
6 oz water (use tomato paste can)
1-2 tbsp Worceshershire sauce (adjust to taste give tang - add more if you want)
1-2 tbsp sugar - enough to soften bite of the tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Over medium heat, fry bacon pieces until crisp on edge, add ground beef, a dash of salt, and dash of pepper. Brown and crumble ground beef.
Add celery, onion, garlic, and mushrooms - cook until onions are translucent and celery is tender.
Add a can of tomatoes, tomato paste, and water - mix in well.
Start with 2 tablespoons each of Worcestershire sauce and sugar. The Worcestershire adds some "tang" to the sauce while the brown sugar softens the bite. The sauce will start to darken from the Worcestershire and look more like a BBQ sauce than a red sauce. Slowly add more Worcestershire sauce to your taste. I usually will let it simmer for a few minutes before tasting and adding more. In the end, I added 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire.
Spoon over spaghetti squash or pasta and top with grated cheese or on a bun like a Sloppy Joe.
You can exchange the diced tomatoes for more tomato paste if you want a smoother sauce.