Well… I say pasta sauce, but, this zippy tomato combination is also pretty darned tasty over ‘za! or flatbread, and might just make you rethink how you do shrimp and rice, or grits, or mashed potatoes, for that fact. It really is all good.
Since it’s a Friday and a Parfait!, many of you know this is a repeat recipe. What you don’t know, though, is that I’ve added one of my new secret weapons into the mix: sherry vinegar! Not cheap at around $10 for this 200mL bottle, it is well worth the price.
For the flavor.
So. First things first, let us get the dirty little secret out in the open and let the hollering commence. I start this, one of my fave sauces, with a jar of sauce.
But…
I am choosy about which jarred sauce I start with. I read the label. I check the ingredients. Corn syrup? No, thank you! Mostly everything else look fairly reasonable and not requiring me to go back to my college chemistry books to check out the ingredients? We’re good!
BTW, you can find a decent “starter” sauce for not too much money, check out the lower end of the sauce aisle and, again, compare labels. You might be surprised.
INGREDIENTS
•Olive oil
•1 lb ground beef
•1 lb ground pork
•Sautéed onion and ‘shrooms
•1 (24 oz) jar sauce
•12 oz low sodium veggie juice
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•1 tsp Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce – or, your fave hot sauce, to taste
•1 (14 oz or so) can diced tomatoes
•1/2 tsp onion powder
•1/2 tsp garlic powder
•1/2 tsp dried oregano
•1/2 tsp dried basil
•1/2 tsp dried parsley
•1/2 tsp thyme
•1/2 tsp rosemary
•1 tsp Salad Elegant
•1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
•1/2 tsp sea salt
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1 tbsp sugar
•1 bay leaf
•1 tbsp sherry vinegar
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the ground beef and pork and cook, breaking the meat up into small pieces, until cooked through and mebbe just a touch crispity in places.
Stir in the sautéed onion and ‘shrooms, the pasta sauce, tomatoes, and remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, stirring quite often, then reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for about 90 minutes, until your sauce has thickened up nicely.
Nice sauce!
And, the new bit with the sherry vinegar?
Spend the $10, already! A little bit goes a very long way, and the punch of flavor it delivers will no doubt make you very pleased with yourself.
Or…
at least, it should.