Old World Italian Meat Sauce Food

CLASSIC ITALIAN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepot, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add both the ground beef and the sausage together and cook, stirring frequently, and breaking up the meat so that it's very crumbly and browned throughout, about 4 to 6 minutes. Turn it into a strainer and let it the fat drain off.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the same pot over medium heat (don't clean it! All those little bits of flavor from the meat will season the sauce). Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and basil and cook, stirring for 2 more minutes, until you can smell the garlic and herbs. Add the wine, if using, and stir for one more minute, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom, until the wine pretty much evaporates.
• Add the canned tomatoes and red pepper flakes if using, and stir to combine everything. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Add the browned meat, lower the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Taste, and season gently with the salt and pepper (the sausages provide a whole lot of seasoning).

OLD WORLD ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large stockpot on low-med heat add your olive oil and saute your onions for about 4 minutes,then add your crushed garlic,cook for 2 minutes longer. Then add your water,and tomato products. Be sure to mix everything very well.Add in your spices,and cheese. cook for 2 1/2 hours covered.Then add in your wine, and cook 30 minutes longer. Sauce will be thin on first day.Also if you use meat it will alter thickness.The second day this turns into a nice thick sauce.

OLD-WORLD SPAGHETTI MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Brown the meat in a large saucepan. Drain the fat from the meat. Add the chopped onion, green pepper, and garlic to the pot and cook until tender. Pour in the mushrooms, tomatoes, sauce, and seasoning and stir everything together. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve 1/2 c sauce over 1 c spaghetti.

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the butter to the oil in small pieces and when the butter foams, add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay and stir, about 5 minutes. Add pancetta and stir 8 to 10 more minutes to render and crisp. Add about a third of the beef and crumble it with a wooden paddle or spoon, let all of the liquid absorb and let the meat begin to lightly caramelize before adding the next third; repeat. Season the meat with salt, pepper, white pepper and nutmeg. Add white wine, about a quarter to a third of a bottle, then stir and let it absorb into the meat. Scrape up all of the fond or the drippings from the meats and vegetables, being careful not to burn the meat. Add milk, tomatoes and about 1 cup stock, a piece of cheese rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano if you have one, then lower heat to simmer, partially cover and cook the sauce 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add up to 1 extra cup of stock if needed if sauce gets too thick. The perfect traditional Bolognese should be buttery, uniform and emulsified, the consistency of rich, tender, pourable oatmeal. Remove bay leaf and the rind, if using, from the sauce. Sauce may be made a few days ahead as the longer it sets, the better it gets.
• To serve, cook pasta in salted water 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 full cup of starchy cooking water, then drain pasta and place back in hot pot.
• Combine pasta with about two-thirds of the sauce, the cooking water and a couple of handfuls of grated cheese, tossing with tongs to combine.
• Serve pasta in shallow bowls with a little torn basil.

OLD ITALIAN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, brown beef and pork over medium heat until no longer pink; set aside.
• In a large skillet, warm olive oil over medium heat and saute onions and garlic until tender; add about 1/2 cup of wine; mix well.
• Add mushrooms, rosemary, oregano and thyme to skillet and add another 1/2 cup wine; saute until tender.
• Add browned meat, tomato sauce and tomato paste to mixture; simmer for 1 hour and add the remaining 2 cups of wine.
• Simmer sauce on low for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally; serve.

OLD WORLD ITALIAN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, brown beef and pork with crushed red chili flakes over medium heat until no longer pink; set aside.
• In another large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute the onions and garlic until tender; add in about 1/2 cup red wine, mix well.
• Add in the sliced mushrooms, rosemary and oregano to skillet, and add another 1/2 cup wine; saute until tender.
• Add in the browned beef, tomato sauce and tomato paste; simmer for 1 hour; then add in remaining 1 cup wine, simmer on low for another 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Towards the end of cooking, add in the Parmesan cheese, mix to combine and heat through.

OLD WORLD MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Make meatballs first.
• Combine all meatball ingredients, adding enough Italian bread crumbs to allow the ground meat to stick together when formed into a ball.
• Form meatballs into size slightly smaller than Dunkin Donuts munchkins, or a little smaller than a golf ball.
• Set aside meatballs.
• Cover bottom of a large pot with a light coating of olive oil.
• Dice fresh garlic and add to pot, frying until golden (about 30 seconds), but do not burn.
• Add paste, puree, crushed tomatoes and water.
• Add spices to taste. Go easy on the red pepper flakes, as you can always add more later.
• Stir. Note: tomato sauce splatters if left unattended on the stove.
• When sauce begins to boil, lower the heat and place meatballs in one by one.
• Let cook for 15 minutes and then stir, being careful not to break apart meatballs. Thereafter, stir occasionally to prevent meatballs from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Cook over low heat for 2 1/2 hours.
• If sauce is too thick, add more water.
• If sauce is too spicy, add some sugar to balance out the spice.

ITALIAN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, water, mushrooms, olives if desired and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. , Discard bay leaf. Serve over spaghetti; or cool, cover and freeze for up to 2 months.

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.
• Empty plum tomatoes into large bowl and squash with your hands.
• Add all ingredients (including any meatballs or sausage you want to add) to pot and simmer for 3 hours.