I make this meat sauce a few times a month, from the pantry and my regular freezer prep. It’s based on fairly standard meat sauce recipes, primarily on one I made at a pizza restaurant.
Ingredients
- 500 ml Beef base, thawed (beef, mushrooms, onion, garlic, bay)
- 1 can (796 ml, 28 oz) San Marzano-style whole tomatoes
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) tomato paste
- 500 ml frozen chopped spinach or kale (optional)
- 100 ml (a splash) red wine
- Dried thyme, and sometimes rosemary; save the basil for garnish
- Salt and pepper
- A dash of balsamic vinegar
Method
Crush the tomatoes by hand in a bowl, cutting out any stem pieces (cheaper brands have them).
Heat the beef base, and the spinach or kale if using, in a large pan until it starts to brown. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it just starts to stick. Deglaze with the wine (or stock or water), scraping the browned bits off the bottom.
Stir in the herbs, then the tomatoes. Simmer until it’s as thick as you like, 20–45 minutes; the beef is already tender.
Season with salt and pepper. Balance with balsamic (or more wine) if it needs acidity or sweetness.
Notes
- Freezes well; I often make a double to quadruple batch.
- Works in any pasta dish that needs a meat sauce, on pizza, or wherever.