For pasta for 8 persons
During the colder months, the woodstoves are burning in the farm kitchens and sugo is simmering away… here’s how we make meat sauce here in Umbria.
Ingredients: olive oil – 1/4 c.? – 1/3 c.? piece of celery carrot onion tomatoes – about 2 lbs. veal, sausage – about 1 lb. white wine – about 1/3 c. Cover bottom of pan with olive oil… sauté finely-chopped onion (be sure that the onion does not burn!) in the hot olive oil and then add about 1 lb. of meat – ground veal and pork (Umbrians would use their homemade sausages, taken out of casing)… or use just veal if preferred.
To meat mixture, add a piece of carrot and 1/2 celery stick, a pugno (classic addition to almost any Umbrian recipe for 8 persons =”little fistful”) of salt and about 1/3 c. of dry white wine.
Simmer til wine has nearly evaporated… add 2 lbs. of whole tomatoes (the farm people would use their own, put up in jars in August), putting through sieve before – simmer til cooked, ie, til ristretto (most of liquid has evaporated) – about 30 mins.
Serve with pasta – add Parmesan – or pecorino (which our rural neighbors would use… sheep’s milk cheese that they make themselves). (NB: Mandina does not use a garlic clove in her sauce… many do!)
