Shelly's Recipe

MEATY RAGU SAUCE

Category: Sauces - Miscellaneous

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 stalk celery, minced
1 carrot, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz ground beef
3 oz thinly sliced Prosciutto, finely chopped
1/2 cup beef or chicken broth/stock
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large dutch oven warm the oil over medium heat and saute the minced celery and carrots. Remove the vegetables from the pan and process in the food processor. Return the veggies to the pan and add in the garlic. Add the prosciutto and ground beef to the pan and brown, stirring often to promote even browning. Transfer contents of pan to a strainer, drain excess fat.

Add broth/stock to the pan and use your spatula to scrap up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the contents of the strainer back into the pan. Let the mixture simmer until the broth/stock has reduced.

Add tomato paste into the pan and stir for 2 minutes to brown. Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and seasonings to pan and once again use the spatula to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Partially cover the pot, reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer for two hours. Stir the sauce every 30 minutes adding water 1/3 cup at a time if sauce is reducing to much.