My Aunt Buzz had a spaghetti sauce recipe passed down from her mother in law. It was made with spare ribs and was really most excellent. Of course, Aunt Buzz being Aunt Buzz, she wouldn’t share the recipe; so I’ve taken it upon myself in fits and starts to make my own version.
I’ve tried a version with ribs but, Rich is just not all that fond of ribs in pasta sauce – I think I am blending genres a little bit too, too much for his tastes – so I brought out my big boy pan and tried an alternative.
No ribs, but diced Pancetta, Italian sausage, and pork belly; and, I gotta say, I beleive this one is a winner.
Note: as with my Doctored Pasta Sauce, I began with a jar of sauce from the store, and built the sauce up from there. If you have a scratch sauce recipe that you love, by all means use that.
INGREDIENTS
•6 oz cubed Pancetta
•1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
•12 oz cooked pork belly, cubed
•4 cups chopped sweet onion
•1 cup diced celery
•2 tbsp freshly minced garlic
•1/2 cup red vermouth
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes
•1 (12 oz) can low sodium veggie juice
•1 tsp sea salt
•1 tsp black pepper
•1 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 tsp rosemary
•1 tsp oregano
•1 tsp basil
•1 tsp thyme
•1 tbsp sugar
•1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
•1/2 cup sherry
•2 tbsp shredded cheese
*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.
Warm a large pot over medium heat, then add the cubed Pancetta and the Italian sausage. Cook, breaking up the sausage into small bits, until it is cooked through.
Add the cubed pork belly and cook for five minutes, stirring often, until the pork belly is nicely browned and just a bit crispity in places.
Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan and add the onion, celery, and garlic.
Cook, stirring often, for about ten minutes more, until the onion is tender.
Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and simmer for 90 minutes or so, until the sauce has been reduced and thickened.
Serve with your fave pasta.
Nice sauce!
Of course, this big pot was a bit much for just the two of us, and I’d cooked an entire pound of pasta as well, so, a couple of evenings later, all those leftovers became Johnny Mazetti Spaghetti; one of my all-time favorite clean up the fridge recipes.