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Italian Meat Sauce With Half the Meat

Italian Meat Sauce With Half the Meat

It’s been a long time since I have made tomato sauce with meat, and this one transported me back to the first recipe I learned to make. I called it spaghetti sauce, and it was a simple tomato sauce with ground beef. It didn’t taste that much different from this sauce, which has only a quarter pound of meat in it – but that is all it needs to have a rich flavor and a meaty texture. The mushroom base is a perfect stand-in for half the meat; you could double the amount for a vegetarian sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ½yellow or red onion, finely chopped
  • 2plump garlic cloves, minced
  • ¼pound ground beef or veal
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • Salt to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ¼pound (about 2/3 cups) roasted mushroom mix
  • 128-ounce can plus 1 14.5-ounce can chopped tomatoes in juice, pulsed in a food processor
  • ¼teaspoon sugar
  • 1teaspoon oregano
  • 1teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Nutritional Information
      • Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

        27 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 1 gram protein; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 61 milligrams sodium

    Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

3 cups, or enough for 9 pasta servings

Preparation

  1. In a large, deep skillet or casserole heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and turn heat up to medium-high. Add ground beef or veal and brown for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add cinnamon and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  2. Stir in roasted mushroom mix, tomatoes, sugar, oregano and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a rapid bubble over medium-high heat. Turn heat down to medium, cover partially if sauce is spluttering too much, and simmer, stirring often, until thick and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with pasta, figuring on 1/3 cup per 3-ounce serving.
  • The sauce will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes well.

30 to 35 minutes

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