Sauce a la Joe

DEAR SOS: In Rose Dosti’s farewell letter, she mentioned Little Joe’s Spaghetti Sauce. Can I get that recipe? Also, is there a recipe archive on the L.A. Times Web site?

DEBBIE SAKAGUCHI

Via e-mail

DEAR DEBBIE: Here’s the deal. You can conduct your own search on our Web site, https://www.latimes.com/archives/ for recipes back to 1990. It’s $2 an article to print. Or, contact The Times Archives and Research Service, (800) 788-8804, which will search back to 1985. Fees start at $10. Also at this number, you can do a historic search, where a researcher will look through L.A. Times records dating to the early 1900s. You’re going to have to get up off your wallet for that. Fees start at $40 per 15-minute increments. This recipe is on the house.

Little Joe’s Spaghetti Sauce

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 2 hours 20 minutes * Vegetarian

3 tablespoons oil

1 onion, minced

2 tablespoons minced green bell pepper

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, chopped

1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree

1 tablespoon basil

1 teaspoon crushed oregano

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 cup water

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, basil, oregano and bay leaf. Simmer the sauce 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Add the red wine, water, salt and pepper. Simmer 1 hour longer. If the sauce is too thick, add more water. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

12 servings. Each serving: 93 calories; 828 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 2.50 grams fiber.