This recipe makes 3 servings. Scales up very easily, just double or triple the amounts.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme
1 bay leaf
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage (or links, with the casings removed)
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 15-ounce can of tomato purée (you can substitute whole tomatoes, just purée them and add them to the sauce with their juice
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
Method:
- In a dutch oven, or heavy soup pot, heat the olive oil with the pancetta and cook on medium/low for 3-5 minutes, until pancetta starts to render and crisp slightly.
- Add the onion, dried herbs, bay leaf and nutmeg, sprinkle with some salt and pepper, and cook on low for 7 minutes until onion softens. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Add the ground beef and Italian sausage and continue to cook for 7 minutes on medium/low, breaking up large pieces of the meat with your wooden spoon as it cooks.
- Add the carrot and celery. Stir in another pinch of salt and pepper and continue to cook for 5 minutes on medium/low. Add garlic and continue to cook for another 3 minutes on low.
- Add the dry white wine and turn up the heat to medium/high to evaporate it.
- Add the tomato purée and all juices from the can. Fill the can with water and add that to the pot as well. Stir and bring to a simmer, then turn the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the milk and cream. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue to simmer on low for 30 minutes or up to one hour. Stir every so often so the bottom doesn’t burn. If the sauce starts to get too thick, add some water to thin.
- Stir in the grated cheese just before using.