my grandma’s spaghetti sauce

One of my earliest cooking memories is helping my grandma make her spaghetti sauce. I can still remember opening her apartment door and being greeted by the smell of it cooking. She didn’t have a written down recipe; she made it every week so she knew it by heart. When I got older I would call her anytime I wanted to make it and she would walk me through it. And although she still remembers it today, about a year ago I though it might be time for me to write it down. So here it is.

Ingredients
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes—I like the San Marzano brand
1 can tomato paste
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
olive oil
salt, pepper, oregano, basil

gram and her spaghetti sauce

Add enough olive oil to the bottom of a large saucepan to coat and turn heat to medium. When hot, add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute. Empty can of crushed tomatoes into the pot, fill the can with water and empty that into the pot as well and stir. Add the can of tomato paste to the sauce and fill the empty can with water and empty that into the pot as well. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil—no exact measurement here, just to taste (she would taste throughout the day and add more seasonings each time). Bring sauce to a boil and then simmer for at least an hour, but if possible 4-6 hours. She would make this first thing in the morning, set it to simmer, then make meatballs and add them to the sauce and let them simmer all day. Mmm, delicious.