Opa’s Meat sauce
Do you know those legendary dishes that make the pride of a family? Those dishes that make you wait for the next family reunion, because you know there is going to be a feast? In our family, the Opa’s meat sauce pasta is that dish.
Our Opa (or Granpa) comes from south Germany, close to the Bodensee lake and is very fond of cooking, especially Italian dishes. Every time we all meet, we know there will be an evening with wine, spaghetti and his secret meat sauce. Wherever we meet, this evening is a special one, and honestly the sauce pan ends up always empty… 😋.
Now how does he do it? What is the secret ingredient? How come we ended up being addicted to this sauce? is it the body and aroma? Because let’s be honest, we have all know and enjoy the original bolognese pasta, and this is not it. But this meat sauce has a sort of sweet aroma and strong well defined composition that makes it irresistible. On top, it is relatively quick to make…
So you have been warned, it is addictive… and here we go with the recipe;
Ingredients (for 6 people):
400 gr Mixed pork and ground beef
300 ml Tomato sauce
2 table spoons Tomato concentrate
5 garlic cloves
Laurel, romarin, marjoram, salt and pepper
Olive oil & butter
Start by finely cutting the garlic cloves, the marjoram and the romarin.
Always prefer spices from the garden.
According to Opa, this dried marjoram is the secret key for the sauce.
Put the meat to cook in a large pan at medium-high temperature with a considerable amount of oil…about 150 ml, (yes! that's a lot, but trust me it is really delicious).
Stir frequently with a spoon to make sure that it is well and evenly cooked and a most of the meat water evaporates. Increase the temperature to make the meat a bit crispy, but don’t let it burn.
Lower the temperature back to medium, and add the tomato sauce and the concentrate and let simmer for about 25 min. Then add the garlic cloves, the marjoram, the romarin and add a laurel leave. Let simmer for another 5-10 min adding a little spoon of butter.
Remove the laurel leave and try the sauce. Add salt and pepper to your preference.
Serve the sauce with spaghetti or spaghettini and a good Italian red wine. Opa recommends:
Primitivo di Manduria DOC 14 Contessa Marina Apulien Rotwein trocken
