For some time I had been thinking: How can I pare down a classic meat sauce for those occasions when I have neither the time to make nor the voracity to consume a full-scaleragù? The sauce below is the answer I came up with. I replaced beef with veal; eliminated the milk, the wine, the carrot, and the celery; and reduced the cooking time from several hours to half of one. It is as easy to take as it is to do. Is it a favorite dish? Sure — it is my favorite simple meat sauce.
Suggested pasta: The ideal carrier for this simple meat sauce is a homemade noodle, in particular one scented with rosemary and sage, cut into fettuccine ortonnarelli.Boxed dry pasta in a short tubular shape such as penne ormaccheroncinican be a satisfactory alternative.
Ingredients
使足够的酱1磅的意大利面,4large or 6 small servings
Step 1
If you are using fresh tomatoes, peel them by dipping them in boiling water for 1 minute, then squeeze off their skin. Halve the tomatoes, scoop out their seeds without squeezing, and chop up coarsely.
Step 2
Put 2 tablespoons of butter and the vegetable oil in a small saucepan and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook the onion, stirring from time to time, until it becomes colored a pale gold.
Step 3
Add the ground veal, and turn it over several times, using a wooden spoon, to brown it all over.
Step 4
Add the cut-up tomato, salt, and several grindings of pepper, and with your wooden spoon turn over all ingredients two or three times. Cook at a steady but gentle simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 5
Cook and drain the pasta and toss it immediately and thoroughly with the sauce, swirling into it the remaining tablespoon of butter and the grated Parmesan.
The sauce may be cooked a day in advance and refrigerated in a tightly sealed container or in a bowl under plastic wrap. When reheating, add a tablespoon of water, bring to a gentle simmer, stir occasionally, and cook until hot through and through.
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Reviews (14)
Back to TopHazan recipes always have too much butter for my taste (and arteries). I doubled the veal and tomatoes, went easy on the butter, added a few mini- carrots and yellow peppers and a New Mexico pepper for a little heat. Excellent,
tedperl
New York
2/22/2021
Whoa. Major bust! I apologize-didnt even notice that this is the Marcella Hazan recipe. This is my go to. No wonder I recognized it. Again, humble mea culpas.
Anonymous
Crystal Coast of NC
10/14/2014
Have made this many times- recipe is straight out of "Marcella C ucina", Marcella Hazan' s cookbook. Page 172. Almost word for word. Shame on you.
Anonymous
Cook from Crystal Coast.
10/13/2014
You have eliminated.....that which makes a Ragu. How much more can you dumb down a classic?
bluemooncyc1
Chattanooga, Tn
7/7/2013
Very easy for a weeknight dinner and got thumbs up from the whole family. I did add one clove minced garlic and a small crumble of rosemary and sage leaves as suggested by another cook, since I was serving it over plain linguine. Will make this one again!
Anonymous
Boston, MA
1/4/2013
This is a great weeknight sauce that my kids love and so do the grown ups. Because she suggests serving it on a pasta flavored with sage and rosemary (and because I am too lazy to make that myself) I always crumble a little dried rosemary and dried sage into the sauce before the simmer stage -- gives it a nice complexity. I also add a dash of red wine if I have some on hand. Terrific.
kimoconnornyc
New York City
7/12/2010
This recipe has been a keeper with me for 11 years -- when I first found it here! All these different tweaks are ridiculous...bread???? This is SUPPOSED to be an easy quick alternative to a ragu. The only difference I`ve made is to add a touch of garlic and I`ve substituted ground lamb for the veal at times and, of course, I`ve always added more parmie because you cannot have enough cheese on this. Note to the cook from Chicago (no offense intended) -- the tips may be better received by Purina.
Anonymous
Barrington Passage NS
3/27/2010
this recipe was very good but idont understand tweets ihave read and the one lady that used sugar! if people knew fundmentals of food they would understand onions, butter, and evenflat parsely are natural sweetners why would any body use sugar!!
chefvalair
las vegas
2/3/2010
这道菜听起来美味,但在阅读few of the dissapointed reviews I made a few changes. Before browning the veal I put it in my food processor with the leaves from 2 rosemary stems, a slice of white bread, and 1 tablespoon of whole milk, this panade kept the veal from drying out while I cooked it with the onions and tomato slices, and gave it a really nice texture on the pasta. I also added 2 minced cloves of garlic in with the onions to give it an extra kick and cooked the whole thing in a large saute dish to give it more surface area while cooking. The end result was absolutely fantastic, definitely a keeper.
Anonymous
Chicago
1/9/2009
I obtained this recipe from an article in GQ, of all places, by a guy who went to Marcella's Venice cooking school for a week. It's simple and incredibly tasty. My wife asks for it regularly. I have also varied the recipe by using duck instead of veal, and adding red wine, garlic, and more butter, which works as a good substitute for the far more complicated duck ragus I've made before. An egg papardelle makes a terrific vehicle. Also, make enough for leftovers, because it's even better the next day!
Anonymous
Oakland, California
2/15/2006
I added, garlic, a bit of sugar and mushrooms..finished out the basic recipe.
Linda Barcus
San Francisco, CA
7/25/2003
This recipe was completely disappointing. In essence it is ground veal with chopped tomatoes in it. There is nothing resembling a sauce. I had to quickly substitute a dinner dish rather than serve it to my family.
Suzy Says
San Carlos CA
9/9/2002
Have not tried it yet - look forward to it!!
Anonymous
5/21/2002
This was very good and simple to prepare. The author is right, the homemade pasta with a thyme was just the right addition. We will have it again.
Molly Lilja
New York, NY
3/25/2000
