It was cool and rainy here for a change and I had the day off from work so I decided to make homemade meat sauce. (I fancied up the name to beef ragu for the title)
Side note- yes it gets cold and cloudy and rainy here in San Diego. I know the California tourism ad's would lead you to think differently but its not true. When you live in a place for long enough your body adjusts to its climate (This is scientifically documented) So yes when the temperature is below 65 degrees it feels cold to me!
The recipe needs to simmer for 3 hours minimum, but it occurred to me that you could probably cook it in a slow cooker if you weren't able to wait around while it cooks down.
The base of this sauce is called soffritto which is carrots, onion, and celery finely diced and sauteed in olive oil.
The original recipe came from La Cucina Italiana
Meat Sauce
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion diced
1 carrot peeled and diced
1 stalk celery diced
1 lb lean ground beef
salt and pepper
1/2 cup red wine
1 28oz can diced tomatoes (the original recipe calls for whole tomatoes and wants you to mash them up but i'm too lazy for that. I usually pick the diced tomatoes that have been seasoned with garlic and basil)
3 Tbsp chopped Parsley
4 C beef stock
In a saucepan over medium high heat warm the olive oil. Add the onion carrot and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes stirring to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with the wine, and cook until it begins to evaporate. Add the tomatoes crushing them while stirring. (this is the part I didn't feel like doing so I used diced tomatoes. I personally think that the recipe is just as good this way.) Add the parsley, and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the stock, adjust seasonings, and lower the heat. Simmer until the sauce is rich and thick 1 to 3 hours. (typically it takes a full 3 hours for me. You can throw some tomato paste in if you want to speed up the process)
Yummmy! (P.S. I spy the spaghetti squash I blogged about earlier in this picture!)
This usually makes wayyyy more sauce than I need so I freeze it in ziplock bags so that its ready to go when I need it again!
Your pictures are so beautiful I think I can smell it simmering on the stove!
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