This was my mom’s go-to pasta sauce growing up and one that I started tinkering with when I was in college. It’s incredibly easy to whip up and follows my freezer food philosophy. I always like to keep some on hand frozen in single servings for those late nights when I need something hearty to soak up the booze or for when I need a quick meal. This has probably 1/100th of the amount of sodium you would get in a processed frozen meal and it’s way tastier. I have always made this sauce by memory and never bothered to pay attention to the amount of each ingredient I was using but here is my attempt at breaking it down.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 small yellow onion (or half of a large one), chopped
• 2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
• 2 sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 package sliced white or brown mushrooms
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt + pepper
• 3/4 cup of dry red wine
• 1 jar of good quality marinara sauce (I typically use Rao’s)

Directions:

• First, pour yourself a glass of wine. It’s Italian night!
• It’s really important that you prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking as this sauce cooks quickly.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Sauté onions until transparent and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes.
• Add sausage meat to onions and break apart with a wooden spoon.
• Once sausage has browned, add mushrooms and stir constantly until they have released their juices, another 5 minutes or so.
• Add bell pepper and garlic and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes then season with salt and pepper.
• Carefully pour wine into pot and let reduce. It is VERY important that you take the time to let the sauce reduce until there is very little liquid left in the pot. If you skimp on this step you will be left with a looser sauce.
• Add marinara sauce to the pot and stir to combine. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors develop.

TIPS

• When cooking pasta it’s important to finish the cooking process in the sauce to “marry” the ingredients. Remove from the boiling water with a couple minutes to spare, add to a pot or pan with a serving of sauce, and let it cook on low heat for another few minutes until al dente. I use spaghetti or a thicker noodle like bucatini.
• Don’t forget the parmesan cheese 🙂
• Modifications welcome! One time I made this with a chicken Italian sausage from Trader Joe’s instead of the typical pork version and it made for a much lighter sauce (yet also very delicious). Great for when you’re trying to eat lighter or during summer months.
• My mom would use half ground beef and half sausage which also lightened up the flavor a bit. I prefer to use all sausage as I absolutely love the herbs and flavorings but it was a good option for kids or those that can’t handle the heat (it turns out SPICY!). Also using all sweet Italian sausage would work too.