What is Sunday without sauce? Growing up, nothing said “Sunday morning” more than the unmistakable smell of sautéing onions, carrots, and celery. The process involved adding ground meat. or cubed beef, or Italian sausage, or meatballs (or all of it) and letting it cook for what seemed like forever. The pot was huge and the sauce just bubbled away. The end result was well worth it…trust me..you have not lived if you have not eaten a piece of thick bread dipped in a pot of simmering sauce.

Thankfully, a good meat sauce can be made any day of the week and it really doesn’t have to take all day.

Finely chop one small yellow onion, one small carrot, and one small celery stalk. Heat about 4Tbsp olive oil in a medium sized pot on medium heat and then add the onion, carrot, and celery.

Stir and allow to cook until the vegetables soften. Do not let the onion brown, so stir often. Add a small splash of water (this helps the veggies steam and break down). Add 1Lb any type of ground meat.

You can use turkey, beef, veal, pork, even lamb. Allow the meat to brown and cook through. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to completely break the meat up…no big clumps. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 minced clove of garlic and 1/2c wine (white or red) and cook until the liquid almost completely evaporates.

Add 3 1/2c pureed tomato. I usually puree whole peeled tomatoes with an immersion blender. If using crushed tomatoes, puree them as well with a blender to loosen the sauce or it will be too thick.

Once the sauce begins to boil, turn the heat to low, partially cover the pot with a lid, and allow to cook for about 30 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally to prevent the meat sauce from sticking. Enjoy with any pasta…but rigatoni, fettuccini, or penne rigate work best. This recipe makes more than enough sauce for 1Lb of pasta.

Enjoy your Sunday and Enjoy your Sauce!

Buon Appetito!