old skool italian phase

Sunday night for dinner, Eric requested an old skool Italian pasta sauce. Having not yet on my own arrived at a recipe I felt met his request, I scanned the binders of my cooking magazines and found and old Fine Cooking from November 200 with "Italian Ragus". It turned out so delicious, I made it again the next night and used it for Lasagna. This morning looking at my belly proves that eating beef ragu chiantigiana two nights in a row takes some practice.

This is the original recipe from the magazine with my notes indicating deviation

4 lb packaged ground chuck
(I used one pound of the Niman Ranch grass fed ground beef)
2 to 3 TBL Olive Oil
1tsp. salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
1 large carrot finely chopped
2 ribs celery finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 Tbl. minced garlic
(Even though i was using 1/4 of the suggested meat, i used the same amount of celery and carrot, 1/2 an onion and only a clove of garlic).
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbs chopped fresh sage
2 tsp. dried majoram
(The first night I made the sauce, I did not have fresh sage. It still turned out great.)
2 cups Chianti or other light dry red wine
(I used a shy one cup)
2 cups canned pureed tomatoes
(I used one can those whole Muir Fire Roasted ones and chopped them up)
2 cups low salt beef stock
(I used one cup)

Unsalted butter
Wide Pasta
Parmesan

1. Tear the ground beef into one inch pieces.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy based pot. When oil is hot, add just enough beef to cover one layer. Season with salt and pepper and brown, stirring occasionally. (About 5 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and finish cooking the rest of the meat.

3. In same pot, saute the carrots, onion and celery until soft and lightly browned. (About 10 minutes)

4. Return the seared meat to the pot. Add the garlic and herbs and saute briefly until fragrant. Add 1.75 cups of the wine and stir scraping the bottom to loosen any brown bits. Let wine reduce till it's almost gone. (About 8 minutes).

5. Reduce heat to low, add the tomato puree and simmer the ragu uncovered for about 1.5 to 2 hours. As it cooks, juices will evaporate, add 1/3 cup of beef stock periodically letting it reduce after each addition.

6. After the long simmer, the flavors have melded, taste and tweak to your liking. (I added salt and pepper). Just before serving, whisk 1/2 Tbl of butter oer serving into the sauce, toss with pasta, sprinkle on Parmesan.