See on Scoop.it – La Cucina Italiana – De Italiaanse Keuken – The Italian Kitchen

[…] I am a Marchigiano but it would be arrogant for me to call my Sauce (sugo) alla Marchigiana, meaning “in the style of Le Marche”. I guess I could say it’s dei Bartolini, meaning “of the Bartolini”, but that would imply that there’s one common sauce for us all. That’s hardly the case.

[…] Mom had her “secret” spice and Nonna might use a little marjoram. […] Today, I add a little wine to my sauce and I don’t recall anyone else having done that.

[…] There are a few techniques that all of our tomato sauces include. In the first place, all of our sauces use onions. This is significant because the sweetness of the onion eliminates the need for the sugar that some add to their tomato sauces. When it comes to preparing a meat sauce, at one time large pieces of beef and pork were used and later served alongside of the pasta. Today those meats are ground before being added to the pot. […] “Brown the meat.” Well, that’s half-right. If you only sauté the meat until the pink is gone, you’re missing an opportunity to add flavor to your sauce. As Zia says, make sure “the juices run clear” before you add anything else to the pot. This will ensure that all the liquid has evaporated, concentrating the flavor and leaving just fat behind. Only then can the meat really begin to brown and I’ll continue to sauté it for a few minutes more to do so. Lastly, I’ll add parsley and basil to the pot just like everyone else but I, also, go back and add more just after the sauce is taken off the heat. I find that doing so not only boosts the flavor of the sauce but adds to its aroma, as well.

Basic Meat Sauce Recipe
yield: 2 quarts (1.9 l)

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil3/4 to 1 lb. (340 to 454 g) ground beef3/4 to 1 lb. (340 to 454 g) ground pork1 large onion, chopped8 cloves garlic, minced or grated4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped – separated1 cup dry red wine10 crimini mushrooms, sliced – optional4 tbsp tomato paste2 quarts (1.9 l) tomatoes or 2 large (28 oz) cans, chopped2 tsp marjoram4 tbsp fresh basil, chopped – separatedsalt & pepper

 

Click for directions and notes

See on fromthebartolinikitchens.com