Midwestern mom spaghetti sauce with spaghetti

Bring a big pot of water up over high heat.

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high, add the ground beef and Italian sausage and salt.

Smush the meat with a meat musher for six to seven minutes of dedicated effort, breaking it down as small as possible.

Drop the heat and brown gently while rendering the fat, still smushing, until no large chunks remain and fond is developing on the bottom.

Add the chopped onion, minced garlic and a strong pinch of salt; sweat five to seven minutes until the onion is soft and translucent and the garlic smells roasty.

Add the tomato paste and cook about 90 seconds until it turns a rusty red, which opens its flavour and stops it tasting tinny.

Add a little water to deglaze the darkening fond before it burns.

Add the crushed tomatoes, then the canful of water, scraping the edges so the fond comes into the sauce.

Drop to medium low to reduce by about 30 percent.

Add the sugar, beef base, chili flake and dried oregano.

Lid on, back up to medium; reduce in total by 30 to 40 percent, cooking about 20 minutes and stirring every five, scraping the bottom so nothing scorches.

Cook another 10 to 12 minutes, roughly as long as the pasta takes, until a spatula leaves a sturdy trail.

Salt the boiling water heavily and cook the spaghetti per package instructions, a little past al dente.

Off the heat, stir in the chopped fresh basil and taste for salt.

Drain the noodles very well, let them steam off a minute, toss with olive oil and rest at least three minutes to reabsorb water.

Twirl a portion of noodles with tongs into a pile, add three to four large ladles of sauce.

Top with a lot of grated Parmesan and drizzle olive oil over.