RITA'S FAVORITE CHUNKY MEAT SAUCE FOR SPAGHETTI (Pressure Cooker)
Makes about 6 1/2 cups sauce; 12 (1/2-cup) OR 8 (3/4-cup) servings. This recipe ingredient list looks long, but it goes together very quickly and tastes like a long-simmered sauce.
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage, or links with casings removed
1 (8 ounce) carton sliced cremini mushrooms
2 cups (9 ounces) diced zucchini (optional)
7 ounces medium-dice onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
2 ribs medium-sliced celery
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crumbled
3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 teaspoon crushed Aleppo or red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
2 bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. In a 4- or 6-quart pressure cooker (8-quart, if doubling) or a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef and sausage until red is gone, leaving meat chunky.
....REMOVE MEAT with a slotted spoon and drain off fat from cooker. [I pour the meat into a strainer over a bowl to drain off fat, then spread meat on paper towels — RDY]
2. PLACE A HEAT DIFFUSER under cooker (optional; I like the 11-inch Calphalon diffuser).
....RETURN MEAT to the cooker and add the mushrooms, optional squash, onion, garlic, celery, parsley, sugar, oregano, crushed fennel seeds, salt, crushed red pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
....POUR ON TOP of the meat-vegetable mixture the stewed tomatoes and tomato paste. DO NOT STIR THEM IN!
3. LOCK LID in place. Bring cooker up to high pressure (15 psi).
....COOK for 10 minutes. (For an electric digital pressure cooker, cook for 6 minutes.)
4. MEANWHILE, bring pot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente ac cording to package directions.
....DRAIN PASTA and, if necessary, keep warm by placing spaghetti in colander and placing colander over simmering water.
5. QUICK-RELEASE the pressure (for an electric digital pressure cooker, use a Natural Release).
6. REMOVE BAY LEAVES.
....SERVE SAUCE over spaghetti.
....SPRINKLE with Parmesan; pass extra cheese at the table.
NOTES:
1. FOR AN ALL-BEEF SPAGHETTI SAUCE, add a pork chop without browning it. Serve the chop separately or chop it finely and add it back into the sauce.
2. MULTI-MEAT SAUCE: Add either meatballs or stew meat (1-inch cubes), either a cut-up chicken or bone-IN chicken thighs, AND either Italian sausages whole) or pork shoulder (1 1/2-inch cubes). Brown them, transfer to the pressure cooker, top with the sauce ingredients, and cook as directed. I cooking on the stovetop, remove meats from the sauce and continue cooking the sauce for a couple of hours. Break up the pork, cut the sausages into chunks, and remove the chicken from the bone. Return the meats to the sauce. OR, TO FREEZE, pack into quart-size freezer containers, dividing the meat equally among them before topping with the sauce. (OPTIONAL ADDITIONS TO THE SAUCE: Rind ends of Parmesan or Romano cheese (add to top of ingredients in pot), leftover meat drippings.
6/22/08 Edit: Removed duplicate chile flakes ingredient.
Makes about 6 1/2 cups sauce; 12 (1/2-cup) OR 8 (3/4-cup) servings. This recipe ingredient list looks long, but it goes together very quickly and tastes like a long-simmered sauce.
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage, or links with casings removed
1 (8 ounce) carton sliced cremini mushrooms
2 cups (9 ounces) diced zucchini (optional)
7 ounces medium-dice onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
2 ribs medium-sliced celery
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crumbled
3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 teaspoon crushed Aleppo or red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
2 bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. In a 4- or 6-quart pressure cooker (8-quart, if doubling) or a 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef and sausage until red is gone, leaving meat chunky.
....REMOVE MEAT with a slotted spoon and drain off fat from cooker. [I pour the meat into a strainer over a bowl to drain off fat, then spread meat on paper towels — RDY]
2. PLACE A HEAT DIFFUSER under cooker (optional; I like the 11-inch Calphalon diffuser).
....RETURN MEAT to the cooker and add the mushrooms, optional squash, onion, garlic, celery, parsley, sugar, oregano, crushed fennel seeds, salt, crushed red pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
....POUR ON TOP of the meat-vegetable mixture the stewed tomatoes and tomato paste. DO NOT STIR THEM IN!
3. LOCK LID in place. Bring cooker up to high pressure (15 psi).
....COOK for 10 minutes. (For an electric digital pressure cooker, cook for 6 minutes.)
4. MEANWHILE, bring pot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti until al dente ac cording to package directions.
....DRAIN PASTA and, if necessary, keep warm by placing spaghetti in colander and placing colander over simmering water.
5. QUICK-RELEASE the pressure (for an electric digital pressure cooker, use a Natural Release).
6. REMOVE BAY LEAVES.
....SERVE SAUCE over spaghetti.
....SPRINKLE with Parmesan; pass extra cheese at the table.
NOTES:
1. FOR AN ALL-BEEF SPAGHETTI SAUCE, add a pork chop without browning it. Serve the chop separately or chop it finely and add it back into the sauce.
2. MULTI-MEAT SAUCE: Add either meatballs or stew meat (1-inch cubes), either a cut-up chicken or bone-IN chicken thighs, AND either Italian sausages whole) or pork shoulder (1 1/2-inch cubes). Brown them, transfer to the pressure cooker, top with the sauce ingredients, and cook as directed. I cooking on the stovetop, remove meats from the sauce and continue cooking the sauce for a couple of hours. Break up the pork, cut the sausages into chunks, and remove the chicken from the bone. Return the meats to the sauce. OR, TO FREEZE, pack into quart-size freezer containers, dividing the meat equally among them before topping with the sauce. (OPTIONAL ADDITIONS TO THE SAUCE: Rind ends of Parmesan or Romano cheese (add to top of ingredients in pot), leftover meat drippings.
6/22/08 Edit: Removed duplicate chile flakes ingredient.
