Homemade Ragu
Serves | 16 |
Prep time | 15 minutes |
Cook time | 3 hours |
Total time | 3 hours, 15 minutes |
Meal type | Main Dish |
By author | The Ercolano Family -- Gabriella, Angela especially |
This ragu is a slow-cooked authentic recipe from the Ercolano Family and is served at Fattoria Pulcino -- their restaurant in Montepulciano (Tuscany).
Ingredients
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 Medium carrots (finely chopped)
- 2 Medium onions (finely chopped)
- 2 celery stalks (finely chopped -- leaves and all!)
- 3 Lbs. ground veal or other lean beef (ground sirloin works really well!)
- 2 Large cans tomatoes (I prefer an Italian brand like San Marzano)
- ½ cup fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 2 Cups dry red wine
- 2 Cups vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Note
Do yourself a favor and don't rush homemade ragu. Allowing the liquids to absorb/evaporate through the simmering process is well worth your patience! Although this sauce is delicious to eat the day it's made, Angela at Fattoria Pulcino clued us in on a little piece of interesting info -- they routinely make their sauce the day before they plan to serve it in the restaurant because it is even better the next day!
Another tip is to sample often and adjust salt. Start with about a tablespoon of kosher salt. That sounds like a lot, but when you add the other ingredients you may find you need to increase the salt.