Step into any authentic Italian grocery store, and you’re instantly surrounded by the mouthwatering aroma of Briny Olives, Aged Cheeses, Crusty Breads, and Savory Deli Meats. That unforgettable scent? It’s the soul of this remarkable Pasta Sauce. Built on the bold flavors of Parmigiano, Olives, and a generous handful of Fresh Basil. Slow-simmered like a true Sunday Gravy, this Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce fills your kitchen with the same rich, comforting and unforgettable fragrance as an Italian deli.

Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce Ingredients

Meat (Ground Beef or 50/50 Ground Beef & Pork), Vegetables (Onion, Garlic & Olives), Pasta Sauce (Passata, Water, Tomato Paste, Butter, Parmigiano), Seasoning (Salt & Black Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Red Chili Flakes or Aleppo, Bay Leaves, Fresh Basil).

Pasta Sauce Meat

The meat used in the Pasta sauce is 1 lb (ca. 454 g) of ground beef, and that’s all it really needs. Although, you can add additional and different kinds of meat to make it a heavy meat pasta sauce. It also has the benefit of creating different texture within the meat used and creating a broth at the same time during the simmer process, especially with bone in meats included.

Ground Beef

Start this pasta sauce with one pound of ground beef as the base meat. You can reduce it to 1/2 pound, especially if you’re adding other meats. Additionally, you can use 50/50 Ground Beef & Pork which is cheaper than just ground beef by itself.

Bone in Meat

You can add any kind of bone-in meat to create a deep, rich broth as the sauce simmers. The meat cooks until tender, so you can strip it off the bones, mince it, and stir it back into the sauce. Use Bone in Pork Chops, Steaks, Ribs or Rib trimmings, Neck bones, Chicken Bones, even leftover bones from prior meals.

Like recently, I purchased bone in pork chops and trimmed away the bones before using the boneless pork in another meal. I froze these bones to use them up later for this dish. Even cooking pork chops or a steak and saving those bones for this dish.

Sausage or Meatballs

Want to add Sausages or Meatballs? With Sausages, fry them up in the pan and set aside to add back into the sauce to simmer. Then removed again and minced to add back to the sauce. You can also remove the skins and portion out the sausages into 1 Tbl Meatballs or include it with the ground meat when cooking.

Meatballs can go right into the sauce during the last 30 minutes of simmer time to cook through and leave whole. They can then be scooped out and set aside to top Spaghetti for Spaghetti & Meatballs. My choice for Meatballs are either the Italian Sausages or Oliveit Meatballs.

Parmigianno Reggiano

Grate fresh Parmigiano Reggiano into the sauce at the end, and add more on top just before serving the spaghetti. If making the Oliveit Meatballs, Parmigianno Reggiano is also used to make the meatballs and adds incredible aroma during the simmer time.

Parmigiano Reggiano Rinds

Use Parmigiano rinds instead of grated cheese by simmering them directly in the sauce. Once you run out of Parmigiano and only the rinds are left, store them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Drop them into the sauce to make the most of every bit. Remove them towards the end when thay have softened.

Base Pasta Sauce

The base pasta sauce is; Passata, Tomato Paste, Water, and Parmigiano. With the Vegetables cooked in Butter, which seems to add much better flavor than using Olive Oil or EVOO. This sauce has a simmer time of about 2 hours and 20 minutes, with 5 Cups of water added. Mix every so often to ensure nothing gets stuck on the bottom and more so towards the end as it thickens. Then add Parmigiano & Fresh Basil, just before removing from the heat.

You can also simmer longer with more water added to develop a richer and even meatier taste like a bolognese. But not as thick, since you want to use this pasta sauce for Spaghetti, Short Pasta, or Pasta Bakes. In fact this is why a long simmered Pasta sauce taste so great! It’s because you’re bringing out the meatier taste, in effect creating a naturual meat broth.

Vegetables

Onions, Garlic & Olives are used for the Vegetables added to this Pasta Sauce. Additionally, a Soffritto can be added too, if desired. Mainly the Carrots for added Sweetness and Celery for high notes. But it is the combination of Olives & Parmigiano that creates the over all aroma and flavor of this pasta sauce and is the heart of it all.

Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce Seasoning

Besides, Fine Sea Salt to bring out the flavors and Ground Black Pepper to hit deep and bring some heat. The seasoning used is pretty straight forward and consist of Basil, Italian Seasoning, Red Chili Flakes or Aleppo Chili Flakes, and Bay Leaf.

You can of course use different added or in exchange Herbs & Spices to shape the overall flavors. Always keep Basil, this just works with Tomato Sauce like a pairing made in heaven and you want Fresh Basil, torn and added last. Dried Basil can be used, but fresh torn or chopped Basil will offer up the best flavor by far. Other ideas are below.

• Parsley: Parsley in Italian cuisine is typically used for Seafood dishes and not generally for long simmered pasta sauce. Although a bit of it can be used to bring a high notes to the sauce.
• Oregano: Use in small amounts. This is typically used for Pizza Sauce, but added in small amounts to Pastas Sauce, offers a depth and earthy flavor.
• Fennel Seeds: Fennel Seeds adds a nice high note and is sometimes included in Pasta Sauces. Because Fennel or Anise is present in things like Italian Sausages, Pepperoni and other Italian Deli Meats.
• Clove: More of a Sicilian thing, use a very small amount of ground cloves (just a pinch of ground clove or a single clove), a little bit, goes a long ways.

How to make Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce

The Sauce comes together in about 2 hours and 20 or so minutes. You can simmer longer with more water added to create an even deeper, richer and meatier flavor. The below steps account for the standard Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce. You can add other ingredients at different stages to shape the overall flavor to your preference, as outlined in the step below.

Splatter Screen

Use a Splatter Screen while the Pasta Sauce is simmering. You want the Pasta Sauce to reduce, and for this it needs to simmer open. A splatter screen does an excellent job. Although if it is splattering too much, lower the heat a bit.

Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce with Milk

If wanting to add milk. Add it to the ground meat during cooking in order to tenderize the meat even more so, and cook until gone. Then continue with the recipe as instructed. About 1/2 C or less is good.

Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce with Red Wine

If wanting to add wine, add it to the ground meat during cooking and after adding milk if using. Cook until it is evaporated. Then continue with the recipe as instructed. About 1/2 C or more is good.

If using either Red or White Goya Cooking Wine, stay at about 1/4 C to 1/2 C because this Cooking Wine already has Salt in it. Additionally save the Sea Salt for the end to adjust the salt level whenever using cooking wines with salt in them.

Leftover Pasta Sauce

Portion any leftover pasta sauce and refrigerate it for up to 3 days, or freeze it for longer storage. When you’re ready to use it, reheat the sauce in a pan and stir in salted pasta water to adjust the consistency. For each serving, use about 1/2 cup of sauce per 100g of pasta. Combine the sauce with salted pasta water to achieve a final texture that clings to the pasta without being too thick or too thin. Adjust as needed to suit your preference

Leftover Pasta Sauce can also be used to make Pasta Pitas with Provolone Cheese, which makes for an unbelievable snack or lunch.

Pan Olive & Parmigiano Spaghetti

For an Pan Olive & Parmigiano Spaghetti, prepare the sauce as you would and set on the back burner with no heat, as the amount of pasta sauce needed will be reheated in the pan.

1. Set a pasta pot filled with 16 C of Water & 2 Tbl of Sea Salt to bring to a boil on the back or front left side burner. When boiling, add 400g-500g of Spaghetti and boil while mixing every so often for about 13-15 minutes or until al dente.
2. Just as the Pasta is about ready, ladle about 1/2 C of the Olive & Parmigiano Pasta Sauce per 100g of Pasta into a pan set over medium heat on the front right burner.
   • If you plan on serving the pasta sauce on top as well, then use only half the amount per 100g of Pasta or half of a 1/2 C Hotel Ladle. The other half of the meat sauce can go on top when serving.
3. Use tongs to pick up the Spaghetti and transfer directly to the pan with the sauce, including any carry over water.
4. Once all the Spaghtti is transfered over, add a bit of pasta water and use the tongs to mix agressively, in order to rub off the starches and assist in thickeneing the sauce. Use more Pasta water to adjust the consistency. Look for the sauce to be slightly thickened. Which can be seen, by moving the pasta aside and checking the sauce consisteny. Mix more if needed to thicken the sauce, or adding more pasta water if needed to thin it out.
5. Plate all the Spaghetti and optionally Garnish with Fresh Basil Leaves, Chili Flakes and more freshly grated Parmigiano if you want.

More Sauce

If more sauce is needed once all the spaghetti is plated. Add more pasta sauce to the pan and heat. Then ladle over the desired amount over the Spaghetti.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Meatballs can be made from scratch using our Italian Sausage mix or the Oliveit meatballs. You can also use store bought Italian sausage, remove the skin and portion into 1 Tbl Meatballs. Add the raw meatballs to the pasta sauce during the last 30 minutes of simmer time.