Quick Tomato Ragu Pasta Sauce
This delicious yet quick ragu is a simplified version of classic tomato meat pasta sauce so many of us love.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 7 persons
Ingredients
- 3Tablespoons butter (divided)
- ½medium onion (peeled and chopped)
- ½teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more to taste)
- 1carrot (peeled and chopped)
- 1stalk celery (chopped)
- Optional: 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
- 8ounces ground meat
- ½to 1 cup wine (red or white)
- 1can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
- ¼teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Step 1
In a large frying pan or sauté pan over medium high heat, melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter. When the butter is melted and stops foaming, add the onion and sprinkle with the salt. Cook, stirring the onions once in awhile as you think of it and to keep them from sticking, until the onions turn a bit translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the carrot, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring most of the time, until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute.Step 2
Add whatever ground meat you've decided to use, increase the heat to high, and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until the meat is cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.Step 3
Add the wine, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from the pan into the sauce. Add the tomatoes and bring to a light boil, crushing the tomatoes into smaller pieces with the back of a spoon, then reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cook undisturbed, at a gentle simmer without stirring until the fat separates out from the sauce, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir to combine the sauce again, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and stir to melt it. Add the pepper and taste the sauce, adding more salt (or adding some vinegar or sugar, if that's your thing) to taste. Serve the sauce tossed with hot pasta or use in a lasagna.