Dad's Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lbs ground beef
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 oz tomato sauce
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp dried oregano
• 3 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• salt
• pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp milk or cream

Method

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high. Add the ground beef and diced onion together — the onion's moisture will render the fat and prevent the meat browning too fast, which dulls the flavour. Break the beef into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. You're after even, light-brown granules, not grey mush. Once the onion turns translucent and the beef no longer releases pink liquid (about 8–10 minutes), add the garlic. Stir constantly for 60 seconds — the moment it stops smelling sharp and turns fragrant, it's done. Holding it longer burns the compounds you've just released and leaves a bitter note that poisons the whole sauce.

Tip the contents into a colander and let the rendered fat drain. Return the meat to the pan with the two cans of tomato sauce. This is simmering|long-cooking territory. Add the oregano, basil, parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Use fresh if you can get it — dried works here because the 2–4 hour cook will coax flavour even from old stock, but fresh herbs added now will lose all personality by halfway through. Bring to a rolling simmer, then reduce heat so you see lazy bubbles breaking the surface every few seconds, not a vigorous boil. The extended time allows the sauce-making|dried herbs to rehydrate fully and their oils to marry with the tomato's acidity. The tomato's own water content will reduce, concentrating sugars and creating a deeper, more savoury profile than any short-cooked version.

Stir every 20 minutes to prevent sticking at the base. Salt and pepper now — you need these before the final stages so you can taste as you adjust. Red pepper flakes go in only if you want heat; add sparingly, tasting as you go, because they don't cook out. After 2–3 hours, the sauce should coat the back of a spoon without running off immediately. This is your target body.

Just before serving, add the milk or cream — about 2 tablespoons — along with half a cup of reserved pasta water. The starch in the pasta water acts as a aromatics|binding agent and helps the sauce coat the pasta properly; the cream softens the acidity without making it taste rich. Bring to a bare simmer for a minute, stirring to incorporate. Taste and adjust salt. Serve.