I’ve been playing around with this one for a while, and the results have generally been pretty pleasing. When we get away from the Deep North, I might be tempted to experiment by adding, say, a few dried-and-reconstituted mushrooms and the liquid they’ve soaked in and there’s some suggestion that a splash of cream might be an interesting addition just prior to serving.
INGREDIENTS:
500 g quality mince
120 g diced bacon
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 carrot, grated finely
2 stalks celery, minced
1 cup dry red wine
400g tin diced tomatoes
500ml beef stock, warmed on the stove
Salt
Pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve
METHOD: Sauté the vegetables and the diced bacon with the oil in a heavy-based casserole or Dutch oven until the onion is translucent.
Add the mince breaking it up and stirring until the meat is browned. then stir in the wine and let the sauce simmer till the wine evaporates.
Add the tomatoes, a ladle of the warm stock, and check the seasoning. Simmering over a very low heat, stirring occasionally, and adding more stock a ladle at a time as the liquid evaporates without letting the sugo dry out completely. This process should take at least two hours, in fact the longer the better....
At the end of the process, the result should be a rich, thick sauce to go with your preferred pasta and a liberal helping of freshly-grated parmesan, and whatever’s left goes into the freezer….