Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage (mild or sweet)
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1-2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste, depending on how thick you like it
1/2 cup red wine
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Remove the casings from the sausage and tear it into small chunks. Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat until it's very hot. Add the sausage and cook until brown. Resist the temptation to stir it around too much. You want to get some of that lovely dark brown crust on it. Drain the sausage and set aside.

Add the ground beef to the skillet and let it cook until brown. Again, don't stir it too much. I break up the block of meat a little bit and then move it around every now and then until it's cooked evenly. Drain the ground beef and set aside. 

Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Drop in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not brown. 

Once the onion is tender add the garlic and cook until fragrant (no more than 1 minute). 

Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook until reduced a little bit, 1-2 minutes.  Add the crushed and diced tomatoes into the pot. Don't drain anything. Just dump it in juices and all. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.

Add the sugar, basil, fennel seeds (trust me, don't skip this!), Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. 

Stir in the sausage and ground beef, lower the heat to low, cover the pot, and walk away. Don't touch it for at least 30 minutes. At that point you can start your taste testing and add extra seasoning as needed. You'll probably want to add salt and pepper, but depending on what kind of wine you use it might not need extra salt. Sometimes I throw in some oregano if I'm feeling feisty.

After it's simmered for about an hour uncover, stir, and let it simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes or until it thickens to the consistency you like. The condensation from the lid is going to have added quite a bit of liquid so this could take some time depending on how thick you like it. 

About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve the sauce add a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley. 

Serve over pasta of your choice sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

Serves:  An Army

Source:  My Own Creation