Hand-Me-Downs.
Mark’s spaghetti sauce is fantastic. Like any ragù used for spaghetti, it has a history. Until this post, we referred to it as Dorothy’s Spaghetti Sauce (in honor of its origin, Mark’s mother). It started in the 1940s or 50s, when attempting Italian was considered cool and hip among young non-Italian couples. Recently, Mark started referring to the input Mrs. Dallo (an Italian-American neighbor) gave to Dorothy in the 1960s, and to the influence from his parents visiting Italy multiple times.
While looking at Dorothy’s handwritten recipe card, I realize that Mark has gone several steps further and made this his own. I can’t say it’s authentic Italian, but knowing how it’s made and what’s in it, I can’t say it’s not authentic. But I really don’t care, because it is so good, and comforting.
~David
Mark’s Spaghetti Sauce
To print this recipe, please click the small printer icon below.
Ingredients
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 sticks celery, grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 2 carrots, grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 35-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 6 ounces dry white wine
- 1/3 cup mixed chopped fresh herbs (oregano, basil, thyme)
- 3 fresh (1 dried) bay leaves
- 18 ounces dried spaghetti (3 ounces per person)
- freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add the oil over medium heat. Add the meat and sauté, breaking up any clumps with your spatula, along with the chopped onion and grated vegetables, until the meat is browned, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, and add red pepper flakes.
- Add tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them, then add any remaining juice and the tomato paste. When mixed well, add the wine, chopped herbs, and bay leaves, stirring to blend. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
- After one hour (or more, if you like), uncover and let the sauce cook 20 minutes. (At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the sauce; it is even better when reheated).
- While the sauce is cooking uncovered, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, then cook the spaghetti per package instructions until al dente.
- Drain the pasta — or remove with tongs — and add it to the sauce. Toss to coat each strand and then let cool a minute to allow the sauce flavors to absorb into the pasta.
- Divide amount 6 pasta bowls and top with additional sauce and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Serves 6.
© 2025 Copyright Cocoa & Lavender
FEL!X
March 29, 2025 at 4:41 amFantastic – origine or …
It sounds to be of these hundred and hundred variation of a «real» bolognese, but every of these traditional written records, all are over and over something very special and personal.
I really like you use still your recipes cards – as I also do!
FEL!X
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 7:12 amI still do love old recipe cards from the family — they keep us together, even when the author has long left this world. Thanks, Felix! Glad the photos are coming through now. I’m not sure if that was something I did, or something new on your computer! But they are coming through on mine, as well.
Mad Dog
March 29, 2025 at 6:07 amThat looks delicious and good to see Mark wearing a chef’s hat!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 7:13 amThanks, Mad Dog! I let Mark put on the toque every now and then. He is actually quite a good cook.
Gerlinde de Broekert
March 29, 2025 at 6:53 amThis is the perfect comfort food with a feel good history. Food plays such an important role in remembering times past . Thanks David!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 7:14 amIt really does, Inger. It always makes us feel closer to those who have gone before us.
Barb
March 29, 2025 at 7:11 amThis ragu sounds perfect for times when one doesn’t have the time or inclination to make Bolognese. I really like recipes that have been passed down to the next generation and slightly updated to make it their own. I’ll make it with pappardelle because someone around here doesn’t like spaghetti, which I have never understood!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 7:16 amNot like spaghetti? Well, I guess there are bigger issues to worry about… This ragù would be excellent with pappardelle or tagliatelle. And, yes, if you don’t have time for the full-on Bolognese, this works pretty darn well. Thanks, Barb!
Melissa
March 29, 2025 at 7:57 amHow nice that you occasionally let Mark into the kitchen! We’re leaning into comfort food these days for sure, so I plan to give this a whirl in the next week or so.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 8:10 amI’m just that kind of guy. (And, honestly, it is nice to have a breather!) I hoe you anbd Scott enjoy it!
Kate Jensen
March 29, 2025 at 8:06 amSince I had the pleasure of eating this at your house (apologies to the rest of David’s readers), I think one thing that made this delicious is the way Mark incorporated the sauce and the pasta. Yum and thank you!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 8:11 amThanks, Kate — I know Mark will read this compliment and smilke!
Fran@ G'day Souffle
March 29, 2025 at 8:32 amYour post brings back several nostalgic memories for me: I still have my recipe card index, although don’t refer to it any more (thanks to now storing them on the computer). Also, I remember when Italian food started to become popular in the 1950s, with the opening of the first Pizza restaurant in our neighborhood (some people were pronouncing it “Pih-zah”! Glad to see your recipes being passed down from one generation to the next!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 8:35 amIt is fun thinking back to what was new and exotic at the times. As my aunt married into a Sicilian family, all foods Italian were very much a part of my upbringing… so it was fun to hear it was “cool” and new to Mark’s parents.
Frank | Memorie di Angelina
March 29, 2025 at 8:48 amNothing like an old family recipe. And keeping them alive across generations. This one sounds very tasty indeed. Nothing like a sugo di carne for pure comfort.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 8:53 amExactly. Do you ever make changes to family recipes? Bring slight improvements? Or do you leave them untouched?
Frank | Memorie di Angelina
March 30, 2025 at 7:30 amI can’t think of an instance where I made major changes from Angelina’s recipes. I’ve used a different kind of lentil for her pasta e lenthicchie. She used regular flat brown lentils, I sometimes go for those fancy plump ones. I sometimes get lazy and leave out the little meatballs from lasagna in favor of bits of sausage. I sometime cut my eggplant thinner than she did for parmigiana… That kind of thing. Pretty tame stuff. But then again, her recipes were perfect. 🙂
On the other hand, there were non-Italian recipes that my Mom used to make, not really family traditions just recipes that were popular at the time. Those I do change with abandon. Things like Turkey Tettrazzini, which I love but I don’t use Campbell’s Cream of Celerty soup any more!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 30, 2025 at 7:43 amOh, the cans of “cream of whatever” that we ate as kids. When I made the cookbook of my mother’s recipes, I had to use two cans — one of tomato soup and the other a vegetable soup — to test and write up the recipes. That as thew last time I touched a canned soup.
While my mother’s recipes (like Angelina’s) were perfect, I have made a few edits over the years, thought many of the changes were in the processes rather than ingredients. Her recipes fall into your category of “recipes that were popular at the time,” so I don’t feel as though I am bucking tradition.
angiesrecipes
March 29, 2025 at 12:00 pmMy husband loves his pasta with meat sauce. This sounds and looks absolutely delicious. Thank you, David, for sharing this family recipe from Mark.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 12:29 pmThanks Angie — I hope your husband enjoys the sauce!
Inger
March 29, 2025 at 12:59 pmA great pasta sauce is always a thing of beauty. Might even be worth a few extra carbs (though that’s always a good push for taking a stroll after dinner anyway).
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 1:50 pmYou know, “carbs“ is just another way of spelling “happiness.“ 🤷🏼♂️ Sometimes it’s worth having the pasta.
Eha Carr
March 29, 2025 at 1:50 pmThis looks hugely appetizing! And you know how ‘impossible’ I am about ‘correct’ names! Well, you cannot get ‘more correct’ than Frank’s ‘sugo di carne’ = ‘meat sauce’ of which this is a delightful variation! I usually make mine rather similarly with perhaps a tad less tomato in it. Great to hear Mark also enjoys being in the kitchen . . . and lovely to see the plating!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 1:52 pmOf course, I noted Frank’s correction. However, Mark’s mother called it ragù and thus it is the correct name for this recipe.
Mimi Rippee
March 29, 2025 at 2:34 pmOh brother. Who cares?!!!!! Call it delicious.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 29, 2025 at 10:41 pmExactly! It is delicious! Thanks!
sherry
March 30, 2025 at 2:34 amI’m sure this is delicious David and honestly I don’t give a hooey about what is authentic or not! Eat, cook and enjoy, whatever takes your fancy I reckon.
sherry
Cocoa & Lavender
March 30, 2025 at 7:43 amThanks, Sherry. You know “hooey” is a word I need to use more!
Ronit Penso
March 30, 2025 at 10:23 amMy kind of dish! Such homemade tomato sauce are always so pleasing and comforting, especially when the recipe brings back all these family memories. 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
March 30, 2025 at 10:34 amFood and family memories are so important at the table, Ronit! Thanks!
Jill W Becker
March 30, 2025 at 4:47 pmOh must try – looks delicious. I have some of my mother and grandmothers handwritten recipe cards – just love seeing their handwriting.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 2, 2025 at 8:29 amI love the old recipe cards — they make me so happy! Such a wonderful connection to the past.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
March 30, 2025 at 5:13 pmI think Italians will absolutely approve this sauce! It’s rich and so lovely. And just like Mark’s recipe, I also tend to add fresh herbs quite generously. And these handwritten recipe cards are so cute and nostalgic 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
April 2, 2025 at 8:30 amFresh herbs really make all the difference, Ben. So much wonderful flavor. The one thing I think Italians might not do is mix the herbs… but it tastes great! And, yes — the recipe cards are really sweet!
Marcelle
March 31, 2025 at 6:51 amDavid, I love cooking up old family recipes so much, they are truly a source of comfort. That old recipe card box is awesome, and this spaghetti with Mark’s sauce looks delicious 🙂 Thank you for sharing it with us!!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 2, 2025 at 8:31 amAlways happy to share — this is a favorite of all our friends, Marcelle!
2pots2cook
March 31, 2025 at 7:12 amYou are very happy person David; two perfect chefs under one roof, now, that’s something 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
April 2, 2025 at 8:31 amEvery once in a while, I let Mark cook. 🙂 He is a wonderful cook but he knows how much I love it, so he lets me have my way in the ktichen!
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
April 1, 2025 at 3:30 pmDavid, Mark’s recipe looks and sounds delicious. We’re sure to love it! Glad to see someone besides me using carrots in spaghetti sauce. It adds a certain, oh shoot, what is Italian for ‘je ne sais quoi’?!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 2, 2025 at 8:33 amWell, I have no idea how the Italians would say that, Jean. I need to ask my cousin! The carrots really are wonderful, and grating them really imparts the flavors!
Raymund
April 3, 2025 at 3:35 pmLove this backstory, David! There’s something so special about recipes that evolve over generations, they’re not just about flavors but the people and memories behind them. Whether it’s Dorothy’s touch, Mrs. Dallo’s influence, or Mark’s own twists, it sounds like this sauce has its own delicious legacy. And hey, who needs “authentic” when it’s this good? Now I’m craving spaghetti! 🍝🤣
Cocoa & Lavender
April 4, 2025 at 7:39 amThanks, Raymund — I do love the evolution of recipes… even those of my mother. I once thought them sacred but I find myself tweaking them here and there.
Pauline McNee
April 5, 2025 at 3:06 pmGood on Mark for doing all that grating of the vegetables. I add those vegetables too, but just finely chop. The grater and I aren’t always friends:) I love that a ragu has such a history. I have been making spaghetti sauce for what seems forever and it definitely has evolved over the years. I add red wine usually, so it might be white wine now, if Mark says it is ok. Who knows what is authentically Italian anymore with spaghetti sauce, and who cares. If it tastes great, it is ok. I would love to tuck into some of this right now. Thanks David.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 6, 2025 at 7:16 amThanks, Pauline. Actually, the white wine was my input… I think it makes the ragù a bit lighter and more elegant. I know what you mean about the grater not being your friend! I finally got a pair of Kevlar gloves and they have saved more than a few fingertips from grating or using the mandoline!
Christina | Christina's Cucina
April 7, 2025 at 8:42 pmI haven’t tasted spaghetti sauce all over Italy, but for the most part the mixture of herbs I find to be more American/British. Outside of that, looks pretty darn authentic to me, and like you said, as long as it’s delicious, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Buon appetito!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 9, 2025 at 7:59 amYes, the use of multiple herbs is a dead giveaway, but honestly they blend so well that it’s hardly noticeable. Thanks, Christina!
Jeff the Chef
April 8, 2025 at 7:29 amMark’s spaghett sauce looks so good, I want it for breakfast! (I’m reading this over my morning coffee.) I make a lot of spaghetti sauce, but I’ver never used celery, carrots, or bay. That’s interesting. And white wine – I occasionally use a spash of red, but I’m curious to find out what the white would be like. I’ll definitely be trying this out!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 9, 2025 at 8:01 amBelieve me, Jeff, I have had this for breakfast more than once. It is perfect even cold! Haha. I must admit I am the one who added the white wine… I like its subtlety. Give it a try and let me know!