Shared by Matthew Ingram. A gently simmered meat sauce with browned beef and pork, San Marzano tomatoes, dry red wine, and milk.
Ingredients
Meat
1 lb ground beef (85/15)
1/2 lb ground pork
Vegetables
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Tomatoes
1 (28 oz) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand — Cento brand preferred
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Liquids
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup whole milk (or 2% milk)
Seasonings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6-8 basil leaves
Instructions
Brown the meat. Brown the beef and pork well. Do not stir constantly; let the meat develop dark brown bits. Remove and set aside.
Cook the vegetables. In the same pot, cook the onion, carrot, and celery for 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Cook the tomato paste. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 2 minutes, until it darkens.
Deglaze. Pour in the wine and scrape every browned bit off the bottom of the pot. Reduce the wine by about half.
Build the sauce. Return the meat to the pot. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and oregano. Simmer gently for 45-60 minutes.
Add the milk. Stir in 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk during the last 20 minutes of simmering.
Recipe Summary
Let the meat brown well, scrape up the browned bits when deglazing, and simmer gently. The milk goes in during the last 20 minutes of the 45-60 minute simmer.
Serving suggestion: Serve with pasta. My favorite is rotini because its shape holds the sauce really well.