Gary KW4Z said:My question is does anyone have any recipes for spaghetti sauce that has
ground beef? This particular sauce could have had onions minced in but
there was never the taste of Bell Peppers as there is in some meat recipes.
As others have suggested, it could have been ragù alla bolognese or
something similar. Or it could have been a simpler sugo di carne,
literally "meat sauce". Here are the recipes for both sauces from
_Cucina Italiana_, compiled by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina.
BTW, in Italy, using this kind of sauce with spaghetti is not really
traditional, though certainly not unknown. I'd suggest white or green
tagliatelle or lasagne instead, in the latter case adding some
besciamella sauce.
Victor
Ragù alla bolognese
Make the ragù alla bolognese:
50 g (2 oz) pancetta
1 medium onion
1 small carrot
1 stick celery
50 g (1/4 cup) butter
200 g (3/4 cups) ground mixed meats (pork, veal, beef)
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato sauce (see below)
1 teaspoon meat extract
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup milk
Chop the pancetta very finely with the onion, carrot and celery. Melt
the butter in a heavy saucepan; when it is bubbling, add the chopped
vegetables and the ground meats. Brown for a few minutes, turn up the
heat and pour in the red wine. When this has completely evaporated, add
the tomato sauce, diluted in a little hot water, and the dissolved meat
extract. Season with salt and pepper as required. Cover and leave to
simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is quite thick.
Pour in the milk, stir well, cover and simmer over very low heat until
the milk is absorbed.
To make the tomato sauce:
300 g (2 cups) ripe of canned plum tomatoes, chopped
1 small carrot
1 small onion
1 stick celery
2 basil leaves (optional)
1/2 clove garlic
1 1/8 cups olive oil
salt
freshly ground pepper
Choose ripe, plump and juicy summer tomatoes for this sauce. Rinse
thoroughly, chop, salt lightly and leave to sweat in a colander placed
over a bowl. Sauté the chopped vegetables, basil and garlic in a heavy
skillet in a few tablespoons of oil. Add the tomatoes immediately,
bring to a boil and cook over moderate heat for about 1/2 hour. When
the tomatoes are no longer watery, strain in a vegetable mill or blend
in a food processor. If the sauce is too thin, reduce by cooking
briefly over high heat. Check the seasoning and add some more oil and a
little sugar if desired. Pour into a sauceboat when hot.
This is the original recipe for the ragù alla bolognese. Other
variations have been developed which in no way detract from the
traditional recipe - indeed they make the sauce richer. In addition to
the traditional ingredients listed above, other recipes for the the ragù
alla bolognese may include chicken livers, or a few dried porcini
mushrooms softened in warm water and then chopped together with the
vegetables and the pancetta, or the fat and lean parts of Parma ham
slices, or even - and this produces the very best results - all three of
these ingredients. Prepare the sauce the previous day and keep in a
cool place in a covered non-reactive casserole.
Ragù alla bolognese is an excellent filling for white or green lasagne
or an accompaniment to tortellini.
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Sugo di carne
30 g (1/4 cup) suet
40 g (1/3 cup) butter
250 g (1 generous cup) ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 stick celery, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
1/2 clove garlic
1 sprig rosemary
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 1/8 cup red wine
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 1/8 cups meat stock
Melt the suet and the butter in a saucepan and add the ground beef.
When the meat is browned, add the chopped onion, celery, carrot, garlic
and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper and leave to cook for 5-10
minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, peel the tomatoes, remove
the seeds and chop coarsely. Pour in the red wine and when it has
evaporated, add the tomatoes. Continue to cook over moderate heat for
at least 2 hours, occasionally adding a ladle of stock, until the meat
is cooked and the sauce thick. Serve the meat together with its juice
or purée in a blender.
