Spaghetti has become an American staple.
Spaghetti is a popular pasta dish, with meat and tomato sauce often served over hot . Shredded Parmesan cheese can be sprinkled over the sauce before serving. Although spaghetti originated in Italy, it has become a mainstay of American cuisine. There are many different ways to prepare basic spaghetti sauce.
Cook the Spaghetti Noodles
Fill a large stock pot with cold water. Place it on the stove and heat the water to boiling. Once the water boils rapidly, reduce the heat to medium-high and add the spaghetti noodles. Approximately two ounces of dry spaghetti noodles equals one serving of cooked spaghetti. Figure the amount of dry you need to prepare according to how many people you are serving. For best results, cook a little extra to allow for second helpings.
A spaghetti measuring tool can be helpful in determining how much dry spaghetti to cook. The tool has round openings that are labeled according to servings. Dry spaghetti noodles are inserted into the hole that corresponds to the number of servings desired, so the correct amount of spaghetti noodles can be determined prior to cooking.
Prepare the Spaghetti Sauce
Heat 2 to 3 tbsp. of olive oil in a four-quart pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add one large chopped onion and two cloves of minced fresh garlic. Stir until the onion is soft. Add one pound of ground beef and stir well to crumble. Cook and stir over medium heat until the beef is cooked through. Add 1/3 cup red wine, 1 cup beef broth, 1 28-oz. can of diced tomatoes, 1 28-oz. can of tomato sauce, and 2 tsp. of dried basil and oregano. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir often while the sauce cooks. Add salt and pepper to taste after approximately 10 minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm on simmer for an hour or two, stirring occasionally.
Variations
There are many spaghetti sauce variations. Some recipes include fresh mushrooms and fresh green peppers that are sliced or diced and added to the sauce after the meat cooks. Some recipes do not include beef broth and wine and simply add more . Some recipes use veal, pork, turkey or seafood instead of beef. Some recipes use cubed meat instead of ground meat. Many people make the ground meat into meatballs, which are cooked in the sauce. Another variation is to add 1/4 cup of rich cream immediately before serving and stir it in well. The cream adds a rich, velvety texture to the sauce. Vegetarian spaghetti sauce eliminates all meat, and some recipes add a generous amount of vegetables to the sauce, including shredded carrots, chopped zucchini and garbanzo beans.
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