There You Have It

The Sauce

Stuff you will need :

• 4-5 cans decent tomatoes
• 1 can good tomato paste
• one small onion chopped pretty fine
• 1-2 cloves of garlic chopped pretty fine
• 4 or so tablespoons of finely chopped carrot
• good handful of chopped flat parsley
• 10 or so big fresh basil leaves
• some marjoram maybe a small teaspoon or so
• some thyme in the same amount as the marjoram
• one tablespoon or so of sugar
• 8 skinny pork chops of the type that supermarkets sell in " family packs"
• 24 or so nice meatballs that you have made and browned off previously
• a bunch of small braciole that you have rolled and browned well
• a couple of cups of water or very very light broth
• a smallish amount of salt, no more than a couple of teaspoons
• some crushed red pepper maybe a little less than a half teaspoon
• some ground black pepper
• good olive oil

Putting it together

Chop the tomatoes after checking them for any blemished or ecky parts and take out any basil leaves that have been canned with them. have all the other sauce ingredients ready.

In a big big heavy bottomed sauce pot, brown off the pork chops a few at a time in hot olive oil. Brown them quite well. After they are all done set aside for a while. Add a little more oil and quickly cook the onions and carrots until kind of soft. Then add the garlic on top of the onions and cook a short ( less than a minute ) while. Add some red pepper. Add the can of tomato paste and sort of fry it in the hot oil and vegetable mix but don't scorch it. When it's fried up some add a couple of cans of water and mix it in good. Then put the chopped tomatoes and canned juices into the pot. Increase the heat and add the herbs. If you think it may need a little more liquid add some water or broth. When it gets to a mild boil turn down the gas to a simmer. Add all the meat and the juices from then into the pot and bring it all back to a pretty slow simmer. Cook for two hours minimum being careful to stir from the bottom up from time to time. Taste and adjust seasonings carefully. When you think it is done, cover and turn off the gas.

Cook whatever macaroni or gnocchi or ravioli your going to have with it. Take the meat out and pour the sauce over the macaroni and eat. Have some good cheese handy to grate over the bowls of macaroni.