Adolph's Ragu or Meat Sauce
Most Italian regional cooking has their own version of the Ragu- Meat Sauce. Ciociaria cooking is no different.
A flavourful sauce is the base of any pasta dish that calls for tomato sauce.
INGREDIENTS
Bottled Passata di Pomodoro
Store bought or homemade- I usually use 2 bottles to make a good batch. A can of peeled plum tomatoes or a couple of frozen tomatoes can be added depending on what taste or texture you want the sauce.
1 onion- chopped
1 carrot-shredded or diced( optional)
Meat for flavour-
pork side ribs- 6-8
or veal- 1 lb ( 450 gms) shoulder blade cut
or pork sausages- 4
Ground beef- 1/4 lb ( 200 gms)- you can add more if you want a meatier sauce. Or make 6-8 medium size meatballs.
Garlic- 2-3 buds- chopped.
Olive Oil-EVOO- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Pepper 1/2 teaspoon ( 25 ml )
Parsley- 2 tablespoons ( 30 ml ) chopped
DIRECTIONS
In a large pot add some olive oil to cover the bottom thinly.
Add the chopped onion, diced carrot, garlic and parsley.
Saute 4-5 minutes.
Add the ground beef in small pieces so it cooks thoroughly.
Add your other meat for flavour, making sure to sear or brown thoroughly.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add one 1 can of crushed plum tomatoes.
Add the bottled passata.
Bring the sauce to a boil stirring to make sure all the ingredients are mixed.
Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer for a minimum of two hours, stirring occasionally to allow the ingredients to be in the body of the sauce.
Be careful not to let the meat stay at the bottom or you risk a chance of burning it.
Some cooks like to add tomato paste now to thicken the sauce, but I rarely use it so did not include it in the ingredients.
A good sauce can be made for more than one meal. Use the sauce with penne, rigatoni or any variety of long pasta- like my homemade spaghetti or fettucine. Top with parmesean or parmiagiano cheese. Barb likes to add some hot peppers for flavour on her pasta.
ADDED NOTES
Modern busy cooks may like to make a batch on Sundays to use during the week for more than one meal. If you have a crock pot or slow cooker, it also can be made before going to work. Start the sauce as above. transfer the sauteed meat and vegetables to a lightly greased crock pot or slow cooker then add the passata and tomatoes. Slow cooking will allow the sauce to simmer slowly all day. There is nothing better than to come home from a busy day and smell homemade sauce in the the house.
As a teenager I would monitor my mother's sauce. My Nonna Maria- my Dad's Mom- lived with us. I remember one time tasting the sauce finding it a bit runny. I asked- Nonna- what did you do to the sauce? Did you add some water? Nonna replied- no! I asked again-Then what did you did? She replied - oh, I added some water- un poco d'acqua!!
Christmas Eve is usually seafood. But the last one-2011, I made two types of sauce along with the homemade pasta to satisfy all the guests at my daughter, Sonya and son-in-law- Andrew's home.
The fettucine with ragu sauce and meatballs for the grandchildren is in the foreground and the clam sauce in the background. Yes, don't worry I will provide that clam sauce recipe at some future time.
The aroma of sauce simmering in the home always brings childhood memories for me. It is such a traditional food item for any Italian home.
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