Mom's 30-Minute Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1

   Warm a tablespoon of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef and Italian sausage together, breaking the meat into small, pea-sized pieces.

2. 2

   Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt to the meat. Cook 3-5 minutes, until the onion softens and turns translucent.

3. 3

   Add the tomato paste and stir constantly for about 2 minutes, until it darkens to a deep, rusty red. If the bottom of the pot starts getting too dark, splash in a little water and scrape it up.

4. 4

   Add the crushed tomatoes, water, beef bouillon, sugar, oregano, and chili flake. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.

5. 5

   Lower the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot, and let the sauce reduce for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Don't skip the lid or the sauce will splatter everywhere.

6. 6

   While the sauce reduces, cook the spaghetti in boiling water for 10-12 minutes, or per package directions.

7. 7

   Check the sauce: it's ready when a spoon dragged through it leaves a slow-closing trail. When in doubt, reduce it a little more.

8. 8

   Drain the spaghetti and toss with a small drizzle of olive oil. Let it steam off for 3-4 minutes so excess water doesn't thin the sauce.

9. 9

   Off heat, fold the chopped fresh basil into the sauce and taste for salt. Adjust if needed.

10. 10

    Serve the spaghetti topped with a generous ladle of meat sauce and plenty of grated Parmesan. Goes great with garlic cheese bread.