Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 carrot (finely diced (optional))
• 1 stick celery (finely diced (optional))
• 1.5lb ground beef (mince)
• 3/4 cup dry red wine ((or sub with water or beef broth/stock))
• 3 beef bouillon cubes (crumbled )
• 2.4 lb crushed tomato (canned)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 - 3 tsp white sugar (if needed )
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 dried bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme ((or 1/2 tsp dried thyme or oregano))
• Salt and pepper
• 1lb spaghetti
• 8 - 10 slices Swiss cheese ((or other type), enough for a layer)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium high heat and cook the minced garlic and finely chopped onion for 2 minutes.
2. Add the finely diced carrot and celery and cook them for 3 minutes.
3. Raise the heat to high, add the ground beef, and cook it while breaking it into small pieces until it browns.
4. Pour in the dry red wine and simmer it rapidly for 2 minutes.
5. Add the crumbled beef bouillon cubes, the canned crushed tomato, the tomato paste, the white sugar if your tomatoes need it, the Worcestershire sauce, the bay leaves and the thyme, and stir the sauce together.
6. Bring the sauce to a simmer, cover the pot, lower the heat, and simmer it for at least 45 minutes and up to 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding water if it dries out, then season it with salt and pepper and discard the bay leaves.
7. Heat the oven to 350F and cook the spaghetti following its packet directions minus 1 minute, then drain it and return it to its pot.
8. Toss just over half the beef sauce through the drained spaghetti.
9. Spread half the sauced spaghetti in a casserole dish, spoon half the remaining sauce over it, and lay the Swiss cheese slices across that layer.
10. Add the rest of the spaghetti, the rest of the sauce, and the shredded mozzarella on top.
11. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake it for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more until the mozzarella bubbles and browns in spots.
12. Cover the baked spaghetti loosely with the foil again, stand it for 10 to 15 minutes, then cut it into portions with a knife and lift them out with a spatula.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 90 min · Total: 105 min

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data