Tag Archives: onions

Thay’s Secret Spaghetti Sauce

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As far as spaghetti goes, I like it fine. But I don’t have that much more to say about it . . . it’s just . . . yeah. Fine.

Until I was introduced to this spaghetti sauce. My friend Thay brought it over during our first few weeks home with Benjamin, when our lovely church friends were bringing meals.

“It’s spaghetti,” she said, handing me the containers of pasta and sauce.

I felt just fine about having spaghetti.

And then I ate some. And suddenly I felt GREAT about eating spaghetti.

And joy of joys: there were lots of leftovers–she’d sent a nice big batch of sauce.

“This are mine,” I informed my husband, fitting the lid back on the container and eyeing the remaining sauce protectively. “I claim these leftovers.”

“Uh . . . okay,” he agreed. I think my sudden passion regarding spaghetti sauce probably came as a surprise. Heck, it came as a surprise to me too. More like a surprise attack.

He relinquished any right to those leftovers immediately.

I would have too, if I’d seen the burning glint in my own eye. It was probably the fiercest, possessivest (yeah, I know that’s not a word) I’ve felt about anything since popcorn.

The next time I saw Thay, she told me how to make it. And her secret ingredient: those little containers of chili sauce you get when you order Thai delivery. But in the absence of those, I luckily discovered that a little sweet chili sauce and a little sriracha produce the same magical effect: a little mysterious je-ne-sais-quoi–a bit of a bite (but subtle), a little tang, a little something delightfully sweet but vinegary.

And the stuff in the sauce! The turkey and peppers an onion make it thick and–well, interesting.

I just made my second batch of the stuff, and I eat it all week long for my lunches, but over rice, with some spinach mixed in, and with two fried eggs on top. Like dees:

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It’s the perfect lunch–a kind of extra-fancy and delicious version of Arroz a la Cubana.

Also, you may have noticed that topping everything with eggs is a kind of obsession with me. I keep hearing about this national egg shortage, and hoping its effects don’t trickle down too far–I need my eggs. I really need ’em. To make my fancy spaghetti sauce lunch–and this salad. With no eggs, they would be naked, sad and ashamed.

But moving on to the recipe!

Ingredients

(Serves 8 +)

¼ cup olive oil
3 lbs ground turkey
4 large white onions
2 red bell peppers
2 green bell peppers
10 cloves garlic
2-28 oz cans (plain) tomato sauce
Generous sprinkling dried basil and thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp sugar (or more to taste)
Secret ingredients:      2 tsp sriracha (or more to taste)
2 tsp Thai sweet chili sauce (or more to taste)

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1. Dice the onions and bell peppers, and mince the garlic.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. When hot, add the diced onions. Cook on medium heat until onions are soft, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t burn. Add the garlic and some salt and pepper; cook for another few minutes.

3. Add the ground turkey to the pot with the onions and cook over medium high heat for 5-8 minutes, crumbling the turkey with a spatula as the meat cooks.

4. Add the bell peppers and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are soft.

5. Add the tomato sauce, dried herbs, more salt and pepper, the sugar, and the secret ingredients. Stir, cover and simmer on lowish heat for at least an hour, stirring every now and then. If you’re able to let it cook away all afternoon, even better.

6. Taste and adjust seasoning; serve over pasta. Or stir in some spinach and spoon it over some rice with eggs. It’s a sauce worthy of being served in many ways, and as often as possible.

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Lentil Sausage Soup

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This lentil soup is pure comfort food. Simple but hearty flavors, our dear Barefoot Contessa has hit the nail on the head again. She’s one of those cookbook writers I can count on to deliver with each recipe–I’ve made dozens of her dishes, with only one flop that I can recall (the weeknight bolognese, for those curious).

From her cookbook Barefoot in Paris, this soup has lots of fresh veggies–onion, leeks, celery, carrots–a hearty stock, and tasty chunks of kielbasa sausage. Basically, this soup just can’t go wrong. As long as you’re willing to do some choppity-chopping for about 10 or 15 minutes, the rest of the soup makes itself.

Well . . . kind of.

Anyway, it’s a great dish for a crowd, so break out your stock pot and your sharpest knife and enjoy!

And at this point, it’s time to insert random pictures of my adorable toddler.

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She’ll be two at the end of October, and right now, lifting things is her life.

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Popcorn is also her life.

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She calls is “pakazzah.”

We dress up in bibs together.

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Enjoy the soup, my friends!

Ingredients

(Serves 8)

1 pound French green lentils
¼ cup olive oil
3 large onions, diced
2 leeks, white and light green parts finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp kosher salt
1 ½ tsp black pepper
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground cumin
8 stalks celery, diced
5-6 carrots, diced
3 quarts chicken stock
¼ cup tomato paste
1 ½ lbs kielbasa sausage, cut in half-moons
1 TBS red wine vinegar
Sprinkling of Parmesan

  1. Put the lentils in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit for 15 minutes, then drain.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a huge pot (like a stock pot) and add the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and cumin. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.
  3. Add the celery and carrots, and cook for another 10 minutes.
  4. Pour in the chicken stock, and add the tomato paste and lentils. Bring it to a boil.
  5. Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 1 hour, uncovered, until the lentils are tender.
  6. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed.
  7. Add the sausage and vinegar. When the sausage is hot, it’s ready to go!
  8. Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a little Parmesan, and with a loaf of crusty French bread.

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