We celebrate St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, in our family. St. Joseph is the patron saint of Sicily, home to my mother’s relatives. He’s credited with saving Sicily’s residents during a devastating drought when locals prayed to him for spring rain to save their crops.
Growing up, our local Catholic church members set out St. Joseph’s Day tables in the community room. A statue of St. Joseph loomed over tables brimming with pasta casseroles, homemade breads, long-cooked vegetables, oranges and dry, anise-flavored cookies. All meatless, as the holiday falls during the Lenten season.
The feast day also falls on our mother’s birthday. A fine cook, she relished the opportunity to cook up a kettle of “spaghetti” sauce. Her smooth sauce was rich with tomato paste, seasoned with a hint of allspice, dried oregano and basil and sweetened with carrot and sugar.
This year, we’ll honor my mother’s tradition by simmering up her “spaghetti sauce” with meatballs and sausage. With some alterations, of course, such as less tomato paste, less fat and less cook time.
Mom’s meatballs featured beef or beef and veal. Ground turkey or chicken make lighter fare, as does subbing in Italian-style chicken sausages for the pork links of her preference. A shower of fresh basil over everything is always welcome. Same for a sprinkling of golden toasted breadcrumbs (to resemble sawdust from St. Joseph’s carpentry work).
Serve the pasta dish with cooked artichokes or a large green salad and a red wine vinaigrette. A feast day indeed.
Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce with Sausage and Meatballs
Makes 6 servings
Note: Look for canned tomatoes without citric acid or calcium chloride for the freshest, brightest tomato flavor.
Sauce
