Marlon’s Godfather Spaghetti Sauce

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (whole, crushed or chopped)
1 10-ounce or 2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
3 to 4 Italian sausages, grilled and sliced
1 lb. cooked meatballs (use your favorite recipe)
Dry red wine
1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot.

2. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Do not let the garlic burn.

3. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously so that a relatively smooth consistence is reached.

4. Add sausages and meatballs. Stir until the meat is coated.

5. Add a splash of red wine, then the sugar according to taste.

6. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.

7. Serve by ladling over cooked pasta.

When I do it, I swap steps 4 and 5 (the meat, of course, being optional, and by optional I mean mandatory 🙂 ). I use Chianti for the red wine, and rather than a splash I pour some (maybe a third of the can) into one of the cans to swish around and rinse the residual tomato out of the can, pour that into the second can and swish around, then pour into the pot.

And, if using meatballs and/or sausages, I like to cook them first to reduce the grease being added to the sauce and to make sure they are cooked through.