Spaghetti - Ahhh

Who doesn't love spaghetti? Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, I mean, and obviously, outside of vegetarians. Just the smell of the sauce cooking is evocative. Early in our relationship, I found my husband loves spaghetti....just not the way I made it. I pride myself on my cooking, so that was quite a blow. I thought it was pretty good. But, his preference was Ragu. His main beef (pardon the pun) about my spaghetti sauce is that it became watery on the plate. He does not like that watery residue. I cannot quite understand the problem, but problem it was, anyway. Why it would take so long for me to figure out how to remedy this difficulty is a question I cannot answer, except for sheer ennui. I hate trying to get specific enough answers about what, precisely, is right or wrong, as that usually ends in frustration. He likes things just a certain way; there is no rhyme nor reason. It has been far easier to buy a jar of Ragu periodically than to mess with the status quo.

Spaghetti Sauce over Linguine with Parmigiano-Reggiano

So here I am, over 20 years later, and it strikes me that I could probably approximate the Ragu sauce he loves! And, when I do something like this, as with my Sloppy Joes recently, and he cannot tell it is not the name-brand jar or can he loves so much, but my own concoction - I consider that a win. I have been writing a lot lately, it seems, about what my husband doesn't like. I am writing mainly to show that there is a way to appease even the pickiest eaters. Maybe not all the time, but it is possible. For me, this is a challenge; moreso lately since I have been focused on creating my own recipes. Everyone has likes and dislikes. Some people have more dislikes than others. This is life. When life hands you lemons - turn them into candy! (More on that subject in another blog. . .)

Closeup of Spaghetti Sauce

Then there is the subject of pasta. Spaghetti pasta is great. However, it seemed that after a time I started noticing that hubby didn't seem to like the round noodles so much; too slippery. I switched to using linguine, and that seems to be working far better, so we use linguine when I make "Spaghetti."  Regardless, I did come up with a viable sauce that hubby liked a lot, so I post this here in the hopes that maybe others with similar difficulties will try this out. Obviously, you do not need a problem to make this an option. The sauce was, in my humble opinion, spectacular. The only thing better would be to use fresh herbs, but none were available when I made this sauce. Fresh basil, fresh oregano, and maybe some fresh marjoram would have made this even better. My husband loves green pepper, so green peppers are in this sauce, as well as mushrooms. These are personal preferences and can easily be left out. To counteract the "watery sauce" I added a little flour after browning the meat, so once the liquids were added, it would thicken. If you need a gluten free sauce, omit the flour. If you still want it thickened, use cornstarch mixed with a little of  the tomato sauce and add it in to cook.

Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

Serves 8

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds lean hamburger
2 onions, chopped
1½ tablespoons (4½ teaspoons) flour
4 - 6 cloves garlic
2 green bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, chopped
8 pitted green olives, minced
1 teaspoon capers, minced
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce +
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (13.25 ounces) mushroom stems & pieces, drained
1 cup water
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar, optional (rounds out the flavor)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1½ teaspoons dried basil (use 1/2 cup, fresh)
1½ teaspoons dried oregano (1/3 - 1/2 cup, fresh)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder (NOT pre-mixed "Chili Powder")

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add the meat. Brown the meat over medium high heat, breaking up any chunks well while stirring. Add in the onions and continue cooking for 2 - 3 minutes longer. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the flour, until it is no longer visible. Add all the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook slowly for at least an hour, to meld flavors. Serve over your favorite pasta and pass the Parmigiana-Reggiano! Garlic Bread on the side is great, and a nice Chianti would be lovely alongside.

NOTE: This recipe could me made up to the point of adding in the flour, then placed into a large crock pot. Add all the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot, cover and cook on low for 5 hours or so.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Garrigue - A New Word and a New Spice Blend

I am trying to think up some appetizers for Friday; one is for a Chateauneuf du Pape (Vieux Telegraphe). In all the research while filling in those wine/food pairing sheets I made (see yesterday's blog), I came across the term “garrigue” as in a flavor or aroma and used in reference to Southern Rhone wines such as Chateauneuf or Bandol and others. We have had some bottles of Rhone called Domaine la Garrigue, Vacqueyras, but had not ever seen the word "garrigue" used as a flavor term, so I looked it up.

Turns out it is a term for the combined aromas of all the wild herbs and plants that grow in the chalky soil in that area, such as rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel, juniper, lavender, mint, lemon verbena, marjoram and others. One web site says: The reason we now hear this term in relationship to wine is that it refers to the flavorful, earthy, salty and pungent aromas and flavors often found in garrigue wines.

Garrigue Seasoning Spices

So today I got this idea. I was thinking of using a flank steak again, as it is easy to marinate and give all sorts of flavors, then broil and slice. I decided to pick from this palate of flavors and make a dry mix first, them blend that with a combination of balsamic and currants, a touch of honey and olive oil. I went shopping late this afternoon, so I just got the flank steak. I will probably wait till Thursday to open it and start the marinating. This is what I used:

Garrigue Seasoning Blend

Makes ½ cup

1½ tablespoons pink peppercorns (for their floral notes)
1 tablespoon each, dried: lavender flowers, black pepper, sage, thyme, fennel
15 juniper berries
1 tablespoon sea salt
 
All these spices went into a little spice grinder and ground fine. I will probably add in some dried lemon peel instead of lemon verbena (that I don’t have). I added the pink peppercorns to lend their floral notes, though they are not a part of the garrigue herbs. It is a pungent combination of ingredients and it smells really, REALLY good. I put the whole batch into a spice blender and made it into powder. This makes about 1/2 cup in all, so there is plenty left to use for other applications.

Meanwhile, as with everything I make now, I thought I should get some pictures of the herbs and spices, individually, and then mixed the whole batch together and took shots of the whole mélange. The pictures are so pretty I may just make this my wallpaper!
 
I am planning to marinate and broil the steak, slice it and serve it on little toasts with a couple pieces of arugula and a slice of sharp cheddar. Once I have used this and see how it goes, I will report here on the results.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.