Splendicious Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Description
This recipe yields a tangy rich sauce with Italian sausage, mushrooms, and red wine. The sauce is excellent over any pasta.
Ingredients
•
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
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1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
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3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
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1 cup red wine
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1 cup sliced green olives
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4 teaspoons sea salt
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2 tablespoons dried basil
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2 teaspoons dried oregano
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1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
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1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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3 tablespoons olive oil
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1 cup finely chopped sweet onion, divided
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1 clove garlic, crushed and chopped
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2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
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2/3 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
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1 teaspoon brown sugar
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3 tablespoons olive oil
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3 (4 ounce) links Italian sausage links, casings removed
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2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
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1 teaspoon ground white pepper
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1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
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1 cup red wine, or more if needed
Directions
1
Mix together the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, 1 cup of red wine, green olives, 4 teaspoons of sea salt, basil, oregano, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a slow cooker. Set the cooker to Low.
2
While the cooker is warming up, place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook 3/4 cup of sweet onion until the onion just begins to soften, about 2 minutes; stir in 1 clove of garlic. Cook the mixture for 3 more minutes before mixing in parsley and mushrooms. Reduce heat, and simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar, and mix to dissolve.
3
While the parsley and mushrooms are simmering, heat 3 more tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and stir in the remaining onion and the sausage. Brown the sausage, breaking the meat up into crumbles as it cooks, about 10 minutes; season the mixture with white pepper and cumin. Pour 1 cup of red into the skillet, and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to dissolve any brown flavor bits into the wine. Simmer for about 10 minutes; pour the sausage mixture into the skillet with the parsley and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat just until all the ingredients have had time to introduce themselves to each other, about 10 minutes. Pour the sausage mixture into the slow cooker.
4
Cook on Low for 8 hours to overnight. Add more red wine or water if needed to prevent the sauce from getting too thick and burning on the bottom.