A slow-cooked meat sauce that's deeply rich and full of flavour. The proper Italian Sunday classic — worth every minute of the cooking time.
🍽 Ingredients
- 500g beef mince (or half beef, half pork)
- 400g spaghetti
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 cans (800g) crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Freshly grated parmesan and basil to serve
🔧 Method
- Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes until very soft.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Increase heat, add mince and brown well — don't stir too often. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in red wine and stir, scraping the bottom. Cook until wine evaporates.
- Add tomato paste and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, stock, oregano and bay leaf. Stir well.
- Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to very low. Cook uncovered for 60–90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick and dark.
- Cook spaghetti al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining.
- Toss pasta with the sauce, adding a splash of pasta water to loosen if needed.
- Serve with parmesan and fresh basil.
💡 Tips & Notes
The soffritto (the slow-cooked onion, carrot and celery base) is what gives this sauce its depth. Don't rush it. The longer the sauce cooks, the better it gets — a 3-hour simmer makes this truly extraordinary.
