Great Canadian spaghetti sauce
25
- Prep Time12 min
- Total Time12 min
- Makes10 cups (2.5 L)
Photo, Erik Putz.
Our test kitchen assistant, Victoria Walsh, loves this specialty of her dad, David Williams. Unlike most pasta sauces, it's loaded with chunky veggies and a rich combo of Canadian classics: bacon, maple syrup and beer. Yum, eh?
Ingredients
250-g pkg sliced bacon, about 8 slices
2 onions
2 227-g pkgs sliced button or cremini mushrooms, or a mix
355-mL can beer
2 sweet bell peppers, preferably different colours
2 carrots
2 796-mL cans plum tomatoes
156-mL can tomato paste
2 tbsp maple syrup, or brown sugar
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp oregano leaves
1/2 tsp hot-red-chili-flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
Instructions
Slice bacon into thin strips, then place in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Stir occasionally until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, finely chop onions.
When bacon is crispy, add mushrooms. Stir often until they start to soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Then stir in onions. Pour in beer. Scrape up and stir in any brown bits from pan bottom. Increase heat to high. Boil, stirring occasionally, to develop flavour, 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop peppers and carrots. Stir tomatoes into beer mixture. Using a potato masher or wooden spoon, gently crush tomatoes. Then stir in peppers, carrots, tomato paste, maple syrup, garlic, seasonings and bay leaves.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered and stirring often, until sauce is thickened, 25 to 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Toss with cooked spaghetti. Sauce will keep well, covered and refrigerated, up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. Defrost and reheat sauce in microwave. Or place frozen sauce in a saucepan with a little water. Heat over medium, stirring often.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 183, Protein 5.8g, Carbohydrates 22.5g, Fat 8.8g, Fibre 4.2g, Sodium 491mg.
