Spaghetti Sauce w/Flat Leaf Italian Parsley

One of my favorite dishes growing up was my Mom's spaghetti and meatballs. I loved watching her prepare the sauce. It always impressed me that she never used a recipe , but the sauce was always perfect. Through the years I have tried to make my sauce the same way, but it never seems to be quite right. I never use recipes either and always come up with something a little different. Now that I am writing this blog, I keep a pen and paper close by so that I can jot down the amounts and time and all that other important stuff you need to write a recipe. Here is a sauce I prepared last week using flat leaf parsley instead of basil. This makes lots of sauce, enough for about 1 1/2 pounds of pasta. It can easily be halved for a smaller portion.

Spaghetti Sauce w/ Flat Leaf Italian Parsley

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 cup Italian red wine, like Chianti
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes in heavy puree
2 tbsp. fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Add the red wine and cook on high until liquid is almost gone, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt and peppers.
If using meatballs, add at this point and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti noodles.