For reference, Via Carota is a neighborhood darling in Greenwich Village. If you get the opportunity to dine there, you must. That said, Tess, my husband and I were so inspired by our rustic Italian meals, that I bought the Via Carota cookbook. This is the very first recipe I tried, and I’ve been making it on repeat ever since.
I’m not a kitchen gadget gal. So, don’t be intimidated if you don’t have a Cuisinart that can chop everything for you. I do it all myself, and find it rather relaxing. Actually that’s a white lie. I do have a mini Cuisinart, and I chop the lesser ingredients (celery and carrots) in that. If you don’t have one, you must get one. It’s life changing. I use mine almost daily.
The short and sweet is that this is NOT a difficult recipe. There are several steps, but they are very straightforward. There’s onions to chop, and that’s the only labor intensive part of the prep. The ingredient list is short. And, your kitchen will smell like heaven on Earth throughout.
Make this in a large Dutch oven, and prepare to have welcome leftovers if you aren’t serving a crowd. This also freezes beautifully for up to 1 month. There are no notes. This sauce is everything. Italian comfort food at its finest.
Four-Hour Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra -virgin olive oil
- 6 medium red onions (2-1/2 pounds), finely diced
- 6 celery ribs, finely diced
- 3 large carrots, finely diced
- 3 pounds grounds beef, 80% lean
- kosher salt
- pepper
- 3 cups dry white wine
- 3 cups crushed tomatoes, or puree
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large, wide pot with a heavy bottom (8 quarts) over medium heat; add the onions, celery, and carrots, and a large pinch of salt. As the vegetables cook slowly, they will perfume the kitchen. Cook stirring often with a wooden spoon, until very soft and golden, 20 to 30 minutes. when they begin to stick to the pot, this is the moment to add the meat. Raise the heat to medium-high and stir in the beef, breaking it up with a fork. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a little pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat has released its water and begins to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the wine, and season with salt and pepper again. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and cook at a very low simmer until the meat starts to stick to the bottom, about 30 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper; stir the tomatoes and water into the sauce. Cover the pot and cook at a bare simmer, stirring every once in awhile, for about 3 1/2 hours. The sauce is done when it is thick and the liquid is well reduced; if there is a little pool of fat on top, spoon it off. Taste for salt and pepper.
- The sauce can be cooled, transferred to a container, covered, and refrigerated for 3-5 days, or frozen for 1 month.
