Celebrate – National Spaghetti Day!

Did you know that January 4th is National Spaghetti Day? While it came as a delicious surprise to me, I wanted to celebrate it by sharing my own recipe for this old standby.

Being part Italian, there tend to be lots of pressure on me to make sure that my spaghetti sauce is just right. Just ask my husband, who has to deal with me staring at him as he takes the first couple of bites. I always look to him for reassurance that the sauce is just right. Now, my recipe has changed over the years from what my mom taught me because, well, Peter just didn’t like some of the ingredients. It’s a very simple sauce to make, and I’m excited to share the recipe with you.

So, here we go!

What you’ll need

How to make it

1. Finely chop the two onions. In the meantime, add the two tablespoons of olive oil into a large pot and heat it on the stove, set to high heat. Once the olive oil is heated, add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until they start to become translucent.
2. As the onions start to become translucent, add the garlic and to the onions and stir. Let the onions and garlic cook for about two minutes before adding your chopped mushrooms.
3. Cook the mushrooms for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the ground pork to the pot.
4. Break the ground pork into small pieces using a spook and cook until it’s no longer pink. Stir occasionally.
5. As the ground pork cooks in the onion, garlic and mushroom mixture, fill another pot with water and add salt to it. Turn on the stove and place the pot. Bring the water to a boil.
6. Once the meat is cooked, add the tomato sauce, water, beef bouillon, pepper and paprika into the pot. Stir it all together, reduce to medium heat and let it thicken, stirring occasionally.
7. As the water pot boils, add your pasta. Depending on your pasta, this will take between eight and 12 minutes. Read the packaging for the exact timing.
8. After the allotted cooking time, use a fork to try a piece of pasta to make sure it’s to your preferred firmness (al dente or soft). Drain the pasta with a strainer. Then put the pasta into the saucepan. Mix it all with the stove still set to medium heat.
9. Using a spaghetti server, place the pasta into bowls. The meat and mushrooms may stay at the bottom, so make sure to scoop deep into the pot. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top if you want a bit more zest.
10. Enjoy!

And that’s it! It’s a super simply and delicious recipe that is a staple in my home. I’d love to hear your spaghetti recipes, so share them in the comments below!

Until next time…