Make Ahead

Low-and-slow meat sauce

by:
February 21, 2010
5
2 Ratings
Low-and-slow meat sauce
  • Serves 3 to 4
Author Notes

This Italian meat sauce borrows from its Bolognese sibling by including cream. Garnish the plate with basil chiffonade and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, if you please. Both sauce and pasta recipes can be doubled when serving more than two. —Furey and the Feast

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion, minced
  • 1/4 cup carrot, minced
  • 1/4 cup celery, minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 3/4 cups crushed Italian tomatoes (about 14 ounces)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
  1. In a 3-quart pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef. Remove from pot and drain. Set aside.
  2. Add olive oil, onion, carrot, celery and garlic to pot and sweat for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until tomato paste darkens in color. (This will deepen its flavor.)
  3. Add red wine to pot and use wooden spoon to scrape any bits of fond that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot. Let wine reduce in half, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  4. Add tomatoes, water, brown sugar, oregano, basil and ground beef. Bring sauce to boil, then reduce heat to low cover with pot lid slightly ajar so steam can escape. Simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings to preference. Add heavy cream and butter to finish. Serve over pasta noodles.
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2 Reviews

Furey A.
Furey A. March 20, 2014
Awesome, Chef Lew! Honored that you tried the recipe and happy that you could make it your own! Happy cooking...
 
chef L.
chef L. March 19, 2014
Made this last night. It's very smooth, silky, and full of flavors. I doubled the recipe and trebled the pepper and oregano because we like our dishes stout. Still, this is a fine sauce, easy to assemble and very tasty.