Most people think of spaghetti sauce as a couple of spoonfulls to top a miniature mountain of spaghetti. I prefer to have things the other way around, a good ladlefull or two on top of a small scoop of spaghetti.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg. lean beef
- 300 g. Italian sausage
- 6 tomatoes (about 1.5 kg.)
- 1 medium sized zucchini or similar squash
- 1 small to medium eggplant
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- a pinch of basil
- a dash of cumin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- olive oil
Instructions:
- Slice the beef thinly across the grain, and tenderize it by beating the pile of slices inside a plastic bag.
- Massage the salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of olive oil into the beef. Let this marinate in the refrigerator while you work on the rest.
- Put the tomatoes in a small pot with just enough water to cover them.
- Boil the tomatoes until the skin starts to split open.
- Drain the water off, and run the tomatoes through a food mill, or smash them and pick out the skin and tough parts.
- Set the sauce aside.
- Roast the eggplant by wrapping it in aluminum foil, and roasting it over an open burner or a grill rack until it is soft enough that a skewer or fork passes through it easily. It should collapse a little.
- Scoop the insides out of the eggplant with a spoon, and add it to the tomato sauce.
- Halve and then slice the onion so that it makes spaghetti thin strings.
- Julienne the zucchini, and chop the garlic.
- Slice the sausage into 1/2 cm. discs.
- Sweat the onions and zucchini together with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- When the onions are starting to be clear, add the sausage and beef.
- Stirfry the beef until it is almost brown, and then add the garlic.
- Toss this a little more, and then add the tomatoes and eggplant sauce.
- Then add the parsley, oregano, basil, and cumin.
- Stir, well, then bring to a boil on high heat. Stir it occasionally to prevent it from burning at the bottom.
- Once it has come to a boil, cover it, and turn the heat down to low.
- Let the sauce simmer on low heat for a half hour to an hour. The longer, the better with this.
This stew can be eaten with or without pasta or bread. |
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