Everyone needs a go-to basic meat sauce for pasta. This is mine. Unlike most of my Italian recipes I cannot assign this to a particular region, unless we want to call it Brooklyn ragu.
Basic Meat Sauce
Course: DinnerIngredients
4 ounces pancetta – finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots – very finely chopped
3 stalks celery – very finely chopped
1 red onion – very finely chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
about 1/2 cup red wine
1 28 ounce can peeled tomatoes – preferably San Marzano – crushed by hand (I do this in a separate deep bowl)
2 tsps beef better-than-bouillon or 1 bouillon cube (this is a total cheat, but it brings richness without days of simmering)
Directions
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in large sauté pan. Add pancetta. Cook on medium to medium low heat until fat has rendered and pancetta is crispy.
- Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the sauté pan. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally and being careful not to burn, until the vegetables are golden brown. You can add some minced garlic toward the end of this step if you would like.
- Add the beef and pork to the pan. Break up meat as it cooks so that no large chunks remain. Cook until the meat has browned.
- Add wine to the pan. Stir to get up any good browned bits from the bottom and sides. Cook until the alcohol has evaporated.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and bouillon. Cook for at least an hour, and preferably two, until tomatoes have basically disintegrated and reduced.
- Serve on pasta of your choice.