Meat Sauce della mamma. The best you have ever had... Promesso!

Prep time: 10 minutes; Cooking time: 3 hours

This is my mom’s homemade meat sauce. As she would say, “it cooks itself” so after 10 minutes of prep time you only need to check on it a few times while it cooks. In the meantime how about you keep yourself busy with a good glass of wine?

Tip: my mom explained to me that it takes so long to cook because the "fat" has to separate from the meat, which is what makes this sauce so tasty without having to add any olive oil other that the amount used to sauté the onions. Also because it takes 3 hours to cook I make a lot of it (the amount below will make 3 big containers) so you should freeze most of it... unless your Italian family is over for dinner!

Ingredients:

• 2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes (I love Pomodori di San Marzano... and they are really easy to find. Write "San Marzano" on a piece of paper and look for them next time you are at your local grocery store.)
• 1/2 onion
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb organic ground beef (not the lean kind).
• 2 carrots
• 1 stick celery
• pinch of salt & pepper
• 1 cup red wine

Equipment:

• Kitchen scale & measuring cups
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Large stockpot
• Wooden spoon

Steps:

1. Wash carrots and peel with a sharp knife
2. Dice onion, carrots and celery
3. In a large stockpot sauté onion in olive oil
4. When onion reaches a golden color add ground beef
5. Once the ground beef starts getting brown add all the other ingredients
6. Cook on medium/low hear for 3 hours

Excellent over any pasta (whole wheat, be healthy!) and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan/Pecorino cheese before serving.

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