Lars and his first wife had competing visions of what makes a perfect spaghetti sauce. In short, he likes lots of meat and bold seasoning, where she prefers more vegetables and a more restrained hand with the spices. The spaghetti comes out terrific either way, though, and so we’ve included them both.
Lightly crush in a mortar and pestle:
10 ml fennel seed
5 ml black pepper
5 ml salt
2.5 ml cayenne pepper
Mix thoroughly with:
500 g lean ground pork
500 g lean ground beef
Sautée over medium heat in olive oil until soft:
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
100 g mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper, cored, seeded and diced
Add the meat, and:
15 ml oregano
15 ml ground black pepper
10 ml thyme
5 ml rosemary
5 ml sage
5 ml basil
5 ml marjoram
salt to taste
Continue cooking until the meat is cooked, but not heavily browned (crisp). Add:
500 g canned tomato sauce
500 g canned diced tomatoes
60 ml grated Parmesan cheese
30 ml sugar
Reduce heat to low and simmer until the spaghetti noodles are cooked. Serve with garlic bread and Parmesan cheese. A good Chianti or Australian Shiraz is a fabulous accompaniment to this dinner!