From my mother-in-law Elaine, her notes in italics
Ingredients:
2 - 3 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion - chopped
1 large clove garlic - chopped
1 tbsp. tomatoe paste
1 tsp. ground fresh pepper. About 8 - 10 grinds of peppermill. (More if
needed after cooking for a while.)
1 tsp. sea salt, grey salt or kosher salt (More if needed after cooking
for a while.)
2 tsp. dried Greek oregano
2 tsp. dried basil (or equivalent fresh basil if available)
1 tsp. sugar (heaped)
pinch allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon (or more if you wish)
1 1/2 lb. extra lean ground hamburger
1 28 oz. can Kitchen Ready Pastene tomatoes or equivalent crushed
tomatoes like Contidina.
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Use a 3 to 4 quart heavy stainless steel pot or an enamel casserole over
cast iron to make this sauce.
Heat saucepan over medium high heat for a minute or two and add olive
oil. Heat oil until hot and ready to sizzle. Quickly add all chopped
chopped onions and a little pepper. Stir quickly and saute for a couple
of minutes until soft and then add the garlic and saute for a minute
until oil is flavored but garlic has not burned. Add tomatoe paste and
stir all together until tomatoe paste has cooked for a couple of minutes
and blended with the onions and garlic. This gives the sauce some
structure.
Begin adding ground beef in small handfuls stirring with wooden spoon
until meat looses its pink color and all the meat is added to the pot. Keep stirring. When all meat is mixed well with the onions and garlic and seems mostly browned, add salt, rest of pepper, oregano, basil, sugar, cinnamon and just about an 1/8th of a teaspoon of the allspice and stir until everything is mixed in. Add tomatoes and rinse out can with a half cup of water and add to the saucepan. Add parsley. Keep stirring and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered or partially covered for about 40 minutes. Check every 10 or 15 minutes and stir a little. When almost done check for
seasoning to see if perhaps more salt, pepper, cinnamon or sugar is needed. Sauce should be rather thick. Cool and refrigerate covered with plastic wrap until ready to use or freeze for later use.