On a long journey to spend Easter with mother, my son offered his services to pick me up at the airport and let me spend the night before the highway part of the journey. For dinner, her served spaghetti with meat sauce. I like the sauce very much. I asked him to give me the recipe. He stared at me with a quizzical look. “But, Dad,” he said, “it’s just the same as you taught me to make when I was a kid.” So, it would seem that heirloom recipes are passed up as well as down - not to mention back and forth. I think you will enjoy this spaghetti sauce variation. It isn’t really an Italian-style sauce. The Italians use their sauce like a condiment to season their pasta. This sauce, rich with meat, mushrooms and vegetables, all simmered in a thick tomato base, begs to be ladled generously onto the pasta in the American style.

• 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
• 1 green Bell pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 14 ½-ounce can beef broth
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• Reserved mushroom packing liquid

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 red Bell pepper, diced
• 1 whole carrot, peeled
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 2 4-ounce cans sliced mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon dried baqsil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Cook ground beef over medium heat, breaking and stirring with a spatula until no longer pink. Remove meat from pan with a slotted spoon to separate form grease. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
2. Add olive oil, onions, Bell peppers, celery and scallions to frying pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onion is transparent and vegetables are soft. Add reserved mushroom packing juice and garlic and reduce until almost dry. Remove from heat and set aside.

   

3. In a large pot, over low heat, add beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Add whole carrot and bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add nutmeg, parsley and chili powder. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. I use a heat diffuser or a heavy bottomed pot and frequent stirring to keep from burning tomato products.
4. Add reserved ground beef and the reserve vegetable mixture. Sir and mix well. Continue to simmer foran additional 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add basil and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Taste sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste. Remove carrot and bay leaf before serving.