By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 30 to 35 minutes
- Rating
- 4(278)
- Notes
- Read community notes
It’s been a long time since I have made tomato sauce with meat, and this one transported me back to the first recipe I learned to make. I called it spaghetti sauce, and it was a simple tomato sauce with ground beef. It didn’t taste that much different from this sauce, which has only a quarter pound of meat in it – but that is all it needs to have a rich flavor and a meaty texture. The mushroom base is a perfect stand-in for half the meat; you could double the amount for a vegetarian sauce.
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Ingredients
Yield:3 cups, or enough for 9 pasta servings
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½yellow or red onion, finely chopped
- 2plump garlic cloves, minced
- ¼pound ground beef or veal
- Pinch of ground cinnamon
- Salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ¼pound (about ⅔ cups) roasted mushroom mix
- 128-ounce can plus 1 14.5-ounce can chopped tomatoes in juice, pulsed in a food processor
- ¼teaspoon sugar
- 1teaspoon oregano
- 1teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
113 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 590 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a large, deep skillet or casserole heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and turn heat up to medium-high. Add ground beef or veal and brown for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add cinnamon and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step
2
Stir in roasted mushroom mix, tomatoes, sugar, oregano and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a rapid bubble over medium-high heat. Turn heat down to medium, cover partially if sauce is spluttering too much, and simmer, stirring often, until thick and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with pasta, figuring on ⅓ cup per 3-ounce serving.
Tip
- The sauce will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes well.
Ratings
4
out of 5
278
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Cooking Notes
Pete McConnell
It probably defeats the purpose of this but I had some meat I wanted to use up and no mushrooms, so: 1 pound of beef, no mushroom mixture, and a little extra oregano and thyme to punch it up. Totally great. I’d even do this with ground pork sausage or ground turkey. The cinnamon is so subtle but makes a huge difference.
Jayne Ann
Used 1/2 lb ground steak. Roughly chopped mushrooms, mixed in garlic olive oil, salt, pepper. Roasted but did not pulverise. Sautéed onion/ eschallot in olive oil and butter. Doubled garlic. Tomato paste, pinch cinnamon (or garam masala) Za’atar (Palestinian thyme), x 2 Italian Marzano tinned tomatoes (both available on Amazon), 1/2 cup dry sherry, the mushrooms, loads of chopped Coriander. Rinsed tomato tins and added water. No sugar needed w/wine/sherry. Simmer gently for at least an hour.
TobyCat
Two T of olive oil didn't seem like enough, so I added 6-8 T more. Mistake. The mushrooms came out wet rather than dry. Great taste but the sauce was runny (though that may be due to using last summer's tomatoes from the freezer). Was the beef necessary? I don't know--I plan to make the sauce again with mushrooms only to see if I miss it. Think this sauce will be great over veggies, btw (lookin' at you, zucchini).
Maree d.
A beautiful dish but just not quite on the mark. It left me wanting something else included in the ingredients. I am a HUGE fan of mushrooms too but am wondering if whole green Italian green olives added would have worked?
patricia
Please. Drag out the food processor to chop up the canned tomatoes?Break ‘em up with a spoon! Less work and cleanup.
Nikki
1.5 cans diced toms (796 mL, 1 can puréed)1 lb ground beef1 lb mushrooms (made 1 cup cooked)1 tsp sugar
christine
This was amazing! My family loved it. I used a very large shallot instead of the onion and garlic and also sautéed some finely chopped carrots, celery and bell pepper. Added the whole pound and the mushrooms and more tomatoes. I love the trick of the roasted mushrooms and cinnamon. Will def make again.
Dave Aubrey
This is one of my favorite quick meat sauces. I skip the cinnamon, mushrooms, and sugar though to keep it savory.
Brandon
Wholly underwhelming. You are basically left to your own devices to give this sauce any chance of having flavor. As with any red sauce that is not a painstakingly cooked bolognese, it is really just trial and error to get a red sauce to taste great if you are not going to put any Romano in it.
jp
I made this last night for New Year's eve dinner and it was wonderful. I didn't have ground cinnamon, but used a cinnamon stick instead. It adds a nice sweetness to the sauce, no need to add sugar. I also added a bay leaf to balance it out a bit. If it gets to sweet with the cinnamon stick, take it out and set it aside. So good.
Pete McConnell
It probably defeats the purpose of this but I had some meat I wanted to use up and no mushrooms, so: 1 pound of beef, no mushroom mixture, and a little extra oregano and thyme to punch it up. Totally great. I’d even do this with ground pork sausage or ground turkey. The cinnamon is so subtle but makes a huge difference.
Ashley
If I omit the sugar will it drastically change the sauce?
Melissa English
This is a regular in my house and regularly tricks an 11 year old meat lover. I like to use shallots for the onion, and I used super lean ground beef and it was fine. I find fresh oregano is better than dried.
Melody Moxley
Just made this tonight. Followed recipe exactly, except for subbing lean ground turkey for the ground beef; to reduce fat, sautéed mushrooms in cooking spray (rather than roasting) and also used cooking spray to sauté onions, etc. Yield was greater than indicated; made 4 1/2 cups, even though I cooked it longer ( about 45 min).Very good flavor, and very healthy. Did not miss having a greater quantity of meat. Used the cinnamon, and it was fine. Will definitely make this again.
Trish Stevens
Using the mushroom mix and a small amount of meat is genius. I will try with my italian sauce recipe next time. I was not a big fan of the cinnamon in this sauce. I love cinnamon in baked goods but not so much in my meat sauce.
Glcc42
Fabulous new comfy food with a Cuban flavor.mwhats not to like.
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