Recipes/tips for making homemade spaghetti and sauce

Definitely make your own sauce. I use the NYT marinara sauce recipe and it turns out fantastic:

1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
7 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered
Small dried whole chile, or pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large fresh basil sprig, or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, more to taste

Pour tomatoes into a large bowl and crush with your hands. Pour 1 cup water into can and slosh it around to get tomato juices. Reserve.

In a large skillet (do not use a deep pot) over medium heat, heat the oil. When it is hot, add garlic.

As soon as garlic is sizzling (do not let it brown), add the tomatoes, then the reserved tomato water. Add whole chile or red pepper flakes, oregano (if using) and salt. Stir.

Place basil sprig, including stem, on the surface (like a flower). Let it wilt, then submerge in sauce. Simmer sauce until thickened and oil on surface is a deep orange, about 15 minutes. (If using oregano, taste sauce after 10 minutes of simmering, adding more salt and oregano as needed.) Discard basil and chile (if using).

This recipe for meatballs is amazing: Dom's mom's meatballs = Dom Deluise's recipe

Combine with Shoot From the Hip Pasta Red Sauce recipe located in the Food Board Recipe Book.

Haven't tried this yet, but I want to soon.

Not Another Cooking Show - Youtube - Weekday Sauce

I know of a good Italian market that makes and sells their own sauce. (And I just learned the other day that they’ve moved to a new location. Looks like they also have a restaurant now. Can’t wait to go try that.) In a pinch I like Newman’s Own roasted garlic sauce.

I’ve seen various Italian chefs make tomato sauce on tv cooking shows. Here is the recipe for basic tomato sauce from my Mario Batali cookbook. It’s very simple and easy to cut in half. I crush the canned whole peeled tomatoes by hand first then take an immersion blender to the finished product. I don’t think a little diced celery added with the onion hurts. I usually get Cento canned tomatoes which comes with basil added.

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE
Makes 4 Cups

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Spanish onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
Two 28-oz cans whole tomatoes
Salt

1. In a 3-qt saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook until the carrot is quite soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, with their juice, and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer until as thick as hot cereal, about 30 minutes. Season with salt. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for 6 months.

That works just fine and you don’t have to simmer it all day like you often hear about some Italian grandma doing. There are other recipes in the cookbook that start with that basic sauce and then get built upon by adding other stuff. But it works perfectly well on its own. Like I said, I blend it until smooth before I serve or store it.

If your adding red pepper flakes, add them to the olive oil before you add anything else. They’ll flavor the oil and turn it red.

I see most people in this thread dont use any tomato paste. Is there any rhyme or reason as to why you should or shouldnt use it?

I personally add tomato paste after my veggies have sauteed and let it get cooked into them before adding my canned tomatoes. Thoughts?

Tomato paste definitely makes the sauce taste richer, imo. I'll definitely add it with the veggies but sometimes I just want a simpler, fresher-tasting sauce.

I make it fresh.

24 tomatoes cored and cubed - blanched to remove skin
A dozen cloves sliced
6 garlic cloves whole
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

This is a long cook but the end result is worth it. In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute' until oil bubbles around garlic (DO NOT BROWN GARLIC).

Add tomatoes and cook down the a sauce (this will take several hours). Stir occasionally and salt and pepper to taste.

This is an aglione sauce which is a Tuscan red sauce. It is usually served with Pici pasta which is a thick semolina pasta. The Pici pasta takes about 22 minutes to cook.

ETA: You can order pici pasta from Amazon.

Just get some Rao's and act like its home made. She won't be able to tell the difference

Thanks for the answers everyone.

I do not have more than an hour or two of prep time. With not a lot of time, is a sauce in a jar the best bet? Or can a homemade one be done in that time?

I also am relatively skilled in the kitchen for those asking. Not clueless, but not an expert.