this is reid’s most cherished recipe and what he claims won over my heart. I would like to think otherwise, but it’s true that this is my favourite meat sauce on the planet. we’ve tried numerous recipes from different sources over the years with varying degrees of complexity; some had chicken liver, many had a mixture of pork, veal and beef, while others required you to render the fat from lardon. this recipe, passed on from a family friend in bologna will always be the best balance of simple and absolutely delicious. it is a staple in our home.
for best results, dice all of the vegetables extremely finely (brunoise) and try to break up the meat into the smallest possible pieces while it's browning.
Makes 1 large pot, serves ~12 (half can be reserved and stored in the freezer)
Ingredients
olive oil
3 stalks of celery, finely diced
2 medium carrots, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 lbs. of medium ground beef
1 cup of wine (white or red)
1 can (794 g / 28 oz.) of crushed tomatoes or 1 can of whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands or pureed with an immersion blender
1 cup of milk
parmesan rind (optional)
1-2 tbsp of fish sauce (it's not "traditional" but fish sauce bumps the umami and adds depth to the ragu)
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 250°F (you could also cook this sauce on the stove for 2-3 hours, in which case you would not need to preheat your oven).
Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add a few tablespoons of olive oil, then the celery, carrots and onion. Sauté for a few minutes until the vegetables have softened. Remove the vegetables and place them in a heatproof bowl.
Brown the beef in the pot, stirring constantly and breaking up the beef into the smallest pieces possible.
Once the beef is fully browned, return the vegetables and pour in the wine. Reduce the heat to medium and let the wine evaporate, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes, milk and parmesan rind. Stir to combine, put the lid on the pot and simmer for 2 to 3 hours in the oven or on the stove, stirring occasionally. The resulting sauce should be velvety and unctuous.
If the sauce is not thick enough, continue to reduce on the stove on medium-low heat. Season to taste with first fish sauce (about one or two tablespoons) then with salt and pepper. Remove the parmesan rind.
Serve on pasta with parmesan cheese. For best results, mix in a bit of the starchy water from cooking pasta into the ragu, then reduce the ragu back to its original consistency before adding the cooked pasta to the ragu. This provides some starch to the ragu, which in turn allows it to cling better to the pasta.
Our favourite gluten-free pasta is Garofalo. It doesn't dissolve and become mush at the blink of an eye like most rice-based pastas do, and can actually reach a nice level of al dente. To cook gluten-free pasta, use a larger pot than normal, stir frequently, and do not rinse after.