Spaghetti with Fresh-Tomato Meat Sauce

The key to making rich, flavorful meat sauces for pasta is time—and fresh ingredients. Whether you use ground veal, lamb, pork, or beef, as in this recipe, give the sauce at least two hours to develop the deepest flavors of the meat, tomatoes, and other ingredients. 

I used both beef broth and red wine in this recipe to add depth and a little complexity to the flavor—without a complex preparation. Once everything is in the pot, let it go, low and slow.

Sauce Ingredients

I use canned crushed tomatoes in many recipes, but there’s just no substitute for sweet, juicy fresh tomatoes cooked down to a fruity, rich sauce—made all the richer with Italian double-concentrated tomato paste. Look for it in the international section of your supermarket, usually sold in tubes.

For a delicious sauce with fewer ingredients, check out Slow-Cooker, Fresh-Tomato Marinara. (Freeze it in batches for months.)

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 lbs stem tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste, preferably double-concentrated
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 8 oz spaghetti
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

Preparation

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the ground sirloin and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking into small chunks, until just cooked through, 7-8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat to a bowl. Drain excess fat from the pot.

Beef Beginning to Brown

Browned Beef

1. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, broth, parsley, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes, crushing tomatoes with the back of a spoon.

Garlic and Onion

Tomato Mixture Beginning to Cook

Return the meat and any accumulated juices to the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook slowly, 2 hours. (The sauce should be fairly thick.)

Meat Returned to Pot

Cooked Spaghetti Sauce

1. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain.
2. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and add the cooked spaghetti, stirring well to combine.

To serve, divide the pasta and sauce among 4-5 shallow bowls. Pass Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table, for grating.

Pasta with Parmesan-Tomato Sauce

Recipe updated May 2015

This is simplicity at its tastiest. When you’re using few ingredients, make them the best they can be: fresh tomatoes, double-concentrated Italian tomato paste, fresh herbs, and the king of Italian cheeses, Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Yes, “loaded” pasta dishes are very hearty and satisfying, but sometimes simpler is better. In this dish, there’s no compromise on taste—just deliciously lighter satisfaction.

Note: Six ounces of pasta may not sound like much for four servings, but when it's ultra-thin angel hair, a little dry makes a lot cooked. If you have especially hearty eaters, throw in an extra ounce.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh tomatoes, large enough to peel easily, such as beefsteak or globe
• 1/3 cup Italian (double-concentrated) tomato paste
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, and oregano
• 6 oz angel hair pasta

Sauce Ingredients

Preparation

1. Peel and cut the tomatoes into small chunks. Place in a pot or large, deep skillet and crush with your fingers to a chunky consistency. Add the tomato paste and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring well to incorporate the paste. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook 45 minutes, then uncover and cook 15 minutes longer, until the sauce thickens a bit. Place the sauce in a large, deep skillet and warm gently over low heat. Stir in the cheese and fresh herbs.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water. Add the pasta and water to the sauce, stirring to combine.

Chopped Tomatoes

Hand-Crushed Tomatoes 

Tomato Paste Stirred In 

After 45 Minutes 

Cooked Sauce 

Cheese and Herbs Ready to Stir In 

Cheese and Herbs Stirred In

To serve, divide the pasta and sauce among 4 pasta bowls, passing additional cheese for grating at the table.

Pasta with Parmesan-Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti with Parmesan Meatballs and Fresh Tomato Sauce

There’s hardly a simpler or more enjoyable Italian comfort food than spaghetti and meatballs. And when a pasta dish has only two main ingredients—meat and tomato sauce—it’s important to make each one as fresh and flavorful as possible.

Meatballs made with both beef and pork are extra tender and juicy. Of course, they’re not exactly lean and light, but to avoid additional fat, I like to bake them instead of frying them in oil. If you bake the meatballs on parchment paper, there’s no need to oil the pan, since foods don’t stick to parchment the way they can to foil or a naked pan.

Meatballs need some binding help, which is where the egg comes in, but also breadcrumbs. Grind your own fresh ones from a couple slices of sourdough, Italian loaf, or other soft white bread (just the insides, not the crunchy crust). Fresh breadcrumbs are much moister than panko or other dry crumbs and work better as a binder for the meatballs—helps keep them tender too.

Also check out Slow-Cooker Heirloom Tomato Sauce.

Beef and Pork Mixture

Now the star of the dish: fresh, homemade tomato sauce. Yes, I often use canned crushed tomatoes when making marinaras and they’re quite good, but there’s nothing like making your own sauce from sweet, ripe tomatoes, simmered slowly for hours into rich, concentrated deliciousness.

I make several batches of this recipe at the end of summer when it’s time to harvest all the tomatoes from the garden. The sauce freezes well, and when you thaw it and heat it up on a cold winter day, that wonderful aroma of last summer’s crop will make you glad you took the time to make it.

But when it’s not growing season, choose the freshest store-bought tomatoes you can find—stem, hothouse, even large romas—and make a single batch for about three cups of sauce. That’s enough for five to six servings of pasta, as in this recipe.

Freah Tomato Sauce after 2 Hours

The tomato paste is an important ingredient for both thickness and flavor, so choose one from Italy, if you can. It usually comes in a tube and is double-concentrated for extra richness. 

One more thing: this sauce has only three ingredients—fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt. It isn’t a marinara (which includes onion, garlic, and herbs)—just the base for it. You can add other ingredients later if you choose, but this recipe is about enjoying the delicious simplicity of the sauce itself.

Tip: This recipe makes five to six servings of meatballs. If you need only four servings, freeze the leftovers for scrumptious meatball sandwiches later in the week. 

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

For the Tomato Sauce

• 3 to 3 1/2 lbs fresh tomatoes, large enough to peel easily, such as vine, globe, or large romas
• 1/2 cup Italian tomato paste
• sea salt

For the Meatballs and Pasta

• 2/3 lb ground beef
• 2/3 lb ground pork
• 2/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/2 cup fine, fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp finely chopped Italian parsley
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 12 oz thin spaghetti

Preparation

For the Tomato Sauce

1. Peel the tomatoes over the pot you’re going to cook them in to catch all the juices. Cut them into small chunks once they’re peeled.
2. When all the tomatoes are in the pot, crush them in your fingers to break them up a bit.
3. Place the pot over medium heat and stir in the tomato paste and salt. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to the lowest level and cover.
4. Cook slowly for at least 3 hours, stirring every 30-45 minutes. Remove the cover during the last 30 minutes to help the sauce thicken slightly.

Cooked Fresh Tomato Sauce

For the Meatballs and Pasta

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Combine all the meatball ingredients (through black pepper) in a medium bowl. Roll the meat mixture into balls, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (should make 20 meatballs).
3. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 15 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and bake 10 minutes longer.

Meatballs Ready to Bake

Baked Meatballs

1. Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the cooked sauce.

Meatballs in the Tomato Sauce

1. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water about 6 minutes. Drain.
2. Divide the spaghetti among 5 to 6 pasta bowls and spoon the meatballs and tomato sauce on top. Serve right away.