Recipe: Paul's Mom's Ragu

Paul's Mom's Ragu
Source: Paul MacGregor

This is probably the forerunner of all those familiar Italian-American tomato-meat sauces for spaghetti. Try it on meat tortellini too, or any short pasta with twists, grooves or crinkles that hold the sauce. It's also an excellent sauce for lasagna.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
6 medium mushrooms, chopped (opt)
3/4 pound lean ground beef (preferably ground chuck)
salt & black pepper to taste
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup milk or half and half
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 (16 ounce) can Italian tomatoes, pushed through a sieve (to remove seeds)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oil and butter over medium heat in a large heavy pot or skillet. Add onion, celery and carrot and cook until onion is translucent and soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until soft, another 4 or 5 minutes. Add meat, salt and pepper. Cook while stirring, just until meat loses its red color. Do not brown. Add wine and simmer until it evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes. Add milk and nutmeg. Cook until milk evaporates, about 4 or 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes. When sauce returns to a low boil, reduce heat and cook at a very low simmer for 3 to 4 hours. Stir occasionally toward the end of cooking. Before serving, stir in the cheese.

Hint: Gentle cooking is the key to a successful ragu. Neither the vegetables nor the meat should brown, and the entire sauce should cook at a long, slow simmer.

If you're using this in a lasagna recipe that ends with a layer of grated cheese, omit the cheese in this recipe.