Zuppa Toscana - Tuscan Soup: Recipes from Italy's Tuscany central region!

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Tuscan Ragù

This is a very simple meat sauce for your pasta or lasagna. It will be richer if you use different types of ground meats.

Makes: 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 3 sprigs of Italian parsley
  • 6 oz. total of: ground beef, pork or veal, mixed with some chopped bacon or pancetta OR 6 oz. of Italian sausages, split open
  • 2/3 to ½ cups of tomato puree or canned plum tomatoes or fresh tomotoes, skinned and chopped
  • salt and pepper
  1. Chop the onion, carrots, celery and parsley finely.
  2. In a pan, using medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the chopped ingredients, cooking until softened.
  3. Add the meat, mix everything together and cook over a low flame until the meat changes color.
  4. Add the tomote puree (or canned or fresh). Less tomoto lets the meat flavor come through more strongly, while more tomato gives it a blended taste.
  5. Simmer gently for half an hour and season with salt and pepper. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more olive oil or tomato sauce, never add water because it thins out the taste. Now if you want pasta, cook the pasta in a large pot and cook until al dente. Add the meat sauce, stir and serve. A sprinkling of parmigiano is optional, but really yummy! The sauce is also perfect for lasagna and with polenta.
    6. Made some potato tortellini for me, really good!

Buon appetito!

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