Ingredients:
- Ground beef, 1-2 pounds
- Olive oil
- Chopped onions (I use 1 or 2 boxes pre-chopped in produce department)
- Fresh garlic, 6-12 cloves, chopped
- Jarred spaghetti sauce, 3-6 jars (I use Newman Sockarooni)
- Dried oregano
- Dried basil
- Bay leaves
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Agave or sugar
- Dry Vermouth
- Spaghetti or the pasta of your choice
I learned to make spaghetti sauce from my mother, who learned from a friend, the Italian painter Gerard Tempest. When I was very young, Jerry and his wife Margaret had an Italian restaurant in Chapel Hill, the Villa Tempesta, pictured above. Through the decades, I’ve adapted and simplified my version of Jerry’s recipe so that it would be unrecognizable to him. His recipe did not use jarred sauce, of course, and also used some sort of roast instead of ground beef. Still, the secret ingredient is unchanged — the Vermouth. (Investing in better spices makes a big difference for this sauce. I recommend Penzey’s.)
Directions:
- Heat a deep skillet or heavy stockpot and add olive oil. Then add onions and garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent.
- Add ground beef and season with salt and black pepper.
- When ground beef has browned, add spaghetti sauce. Then add oregano, basil, bay leaves and red pepper flakes to taste. (I like to season heavily, especially with the red pepper flakes, but do what feels right to you.)
- Add a squirt of agave or small spoon of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup Vermouth. Simmer until ready to serve — on a bed of al dente pasta.
