Spaghetti. The word rolls off the tongue as delicious as it tastes. One of Betsy’s friends, Mr. Johnson, came by the office and brought me some tomatoes. He asked if I had a spaghetti sauce recipe. Of course I do. One staple meal I have always made is spaghetti. I’d be hard pressed to find a preparation of spaghetti that I didn’t like. Spaghetti is versatile; from classic tomato sauce to pesto, seafood, or vegetarian options. Perfect for any mood-a cozy lunch to a date night meal.
According to Bioitalia, pasta is synonymous with Italy, but it originated in eastern Mediterranean countries such as Greece and several territories of the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula. There, meals made from dough were different in many ways to the food that was used on daily basis in the Ancient Roman Empire. Historical records tell us, the direct origin of the Italian pasta came from the Arab meal called “itriyya” that was often described by the Greeks as “dry pasta.” This durable and long-lasting meal was one of the main sources of nutrition for Arab traders who traveled across the then-known world outside of Europe. Because of their nomadic nature and military conquest, the first European contact with itriyya was recorded sometimes during 7th century AD when Arabs managed to occupy Sicily. There were rumors about Marco Polo bringing Chinese recipe of pasta to Italy, but his travels happened more than 500 years later. Starting in the 13th century in Italy, written records of pasta show up. Like most Italian pastas, spaghetti’s name refers to the distinctive shape or feature of the pasta. The first use of the word spaghetti didn’t come up until 1845. Known as “sparghetti” at the time, the word is a diminutive of the Italian word “spago,” which means thin cord.
Spaghetti and meatballs are the representative Italian American comfort food. This dish was invented by Italians that came to America between 1880 and 1920, when millions of Italians left Italy in search of freedom and land. After discovering that meat in America was inexpensive, they made meatballs using ground beef and to bulk up their meals further, they added a generous helping of pasta topped with a sauce made of canned tomatoes. These ingredients, canned tomatoes, and dried pasta were cheap to buy and easy to cook with. When US soldiers returned home from World War II with a taste for pasta meals and then Hollywood adding to the lore with movies, spaghetti became an American staple.
Through the years movies have included spaghetti to help tell the story. In 1972’s The Godfather, Michael Corleone is drawn to a stove helmed by Clemenza. “You might have to cook for 20 guys someday”. Clemenza tells him as he shares his recipe for spaghetti sauce. In the 2010 film, Eat, Pray, Love, Julia Roberts slurps a life changing plate of pasta for lunch. In 2003’s Elf, Buddy makes himself a breakfast of spaghetti topped with sprinkles, marshmallow, M&Ms, maple syrup, and chocolate fudge Poptart’s. In 1955’s Lady and the Tramp these doggie lovers eat spaghetti and meatballs during the most romantic date known to dogkind. Spaghetti tacos made a frequent appearance on iCarly, seen for the first time in season one in 2007. These cinematic moments helped to cement spaghetti in our culture and recipe boxes.
Spaghetti. It’s inexpensive, easy to prepare, delicious and nutritious and it stays good pretty much forever if you keep it dry. Adorned with meat, cheese, oil, butter, or even ketchup, spaghetti becomes uniquely American.
This homemade spaghetti sauce can be easily made ahead of time. Store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or freeze it. Before freezing spaghetti sauce, allow the mixture to cool completely. Label a gallon freezer bag and fill it with the sauce. Store it on a flat surface so that it freezes into a flat shape that will store easily. Store it for up to 4-6 months. To use, place frozen sauce in a pot and reheat on the stove until warm. And yes, this sauce is good when I replace the meat with mushrooms for a hearty vegetarian sauce.
Spaghetti Red Sauce
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (or 1/2 lb ground Italian sausage and 1/2 lb ground beef)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
15 ounces tomato sauce
6 ounces tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (optional)
spaghetti noodles, for serving
Instructions
Season ground beef with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, add the beef and chopped onion and brown. Drain excess grease. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, Worcestershire, and sugar to the skillet. Stir well to combine and bring to a boil. Add water and stir well. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add water and simmer for 30 minutes or longer, to get more depth of flavor. The longer you simmer it, the more the flavors will blend together. Add chopped basil before serving, if desired.
