Effortless Italian Meat Sauce (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Sauce
01 -
2 bay leaves
02 -
230 grams tomato sauce
03 -
410 grams diced tomatoes, including the liquid
04 -
800 grams crushed tomatoes
05 -
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
06 -
2 teaspoons hot sauce
07 -
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
08 -
170 grams tomato paste
09 -
180 millilitres dry red wine
10 -
3 cloves garlic, minced
11 -
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
12 -
Salt and black pepper as needed
13 -
900 grams ground beef
14 -
1 large yellow onion, diced
15 -
2 tablespoons olive oil
→ Seasonings
16 -
2 pinches red pepper flakes
17 -
1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
18 -
2 teaspoons salt
19 -
2 teaspoons mustard powder
20 -
2 teaspoons dried basil
21 -
2 teaspoons dried parsley
# Instructions:
01 -
Pull out the bay leaves and ditch them before you dish up. Spoon hot sauce over pasta or layer it into baked pasta, whatever you like best.
02 -
Chuck in the bay leaves, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with their liquid, and the crushed tomatoes. Heat just until it bubbles, then drop the heat to low. Cover it loosely with a lid. Let it burble for about 45 minutes, popping by now and then for a quick stir, until thick and deep in taste.
03 -
Mix in the dried parsley, basil, mustard powder, salt, red pepper flakes, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and tomato paste. Tumble everything together so the meat's covered well with all those flavours.
04 -
Tip out any extra grease hanging out in the pot. Pour in the wine and scrape up the tasty brown bits at the bottom using your spatula. Let it bubble until most of it cooks off, about five to six minutes, so it doesn't smell boozy anymore.
05 -
Sprinkle some salt and pepper over your ground beef. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Drop the meat into the pot and break it into bits as it browns, around five minutes. Toss in the bell pepper and garlic, then cook three minutes more until everything smells awesome.
06 -
Warm olive oil in your big pot on medium. Throw in diced onion and cook for about eight minutes, giving it a stir now and then, until it's nice and soft.
# Notes:
01 -
Using a mix of pork, sausage, or even veal with your beef gives the sauce an extra savory kick.
02 -
If you're all out of red wine, swap in equal beef broth plus a dash of red wine vinegar for a similar vibe.
03 -
To make things really creamy, stir in up to 110 grams cream cheese or 180 millilitres heavy cream right at the end before serving.
04 -
If you want to save some, divvy up the sauce and freeze. It'll taste great for three months if you seal it up tight.
05 -
For the slow cooker fans: after you sauté the onions and brown the beef, dump everything else in the slow cooker. Go for four hours on high or eight hours on low and you're set.
06 -
This amount is just right for about 1.35 kilograms of uncooked pasta.