Unapologetic Comfort Food
Unreasonably Good Meat Sauce Penne
A weeknight meat sauce that tastes like it simmered all Sunday, thanks to one thing most people skip: actually browning the meat.
Photo by Eaters Collective on Unsplash
I’m not going to pretend this is elegant. It’s meat sauce. It is, however, meat sauce made by someone who spent years being yelled at about browning, and that changes things.
Most meat sauce tastes flat because the meat never actually browned. It went into the pot, got stirred around, released its water, and boiled in it. That’s not cooking, that’s a hot bath.
The two non-negotiables
Leave the meat alone. Spread it out, salt it, and walk away for five minutes. The crust you build is the backbone of the whole sauce.
Fry the tomato paste. Raw tomato paste tastes tinny. Two minutes in the fat turns it sweet and deep. You’ll see the color shift from bright red to rusty brick; that’s your cue.
Make it ahead
The sauce is better the next day and freezes for three months. Make a double batch, freeze half, and congratulate future you, who will be tired.
Ingredients
How to make it
- 1
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high until it shimmers. Press the beef into one flat layer, season with salt, and leave it alone for 4 to 5 minutes, until the bottom has a deep brown crust. Then break it up and cook until no pink remains.
- 2
Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- 3
Add the tomato paste and fry it, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, until it darkens to brick red and starts to stick to the pot.
- 4
Pour in the wine and scrape up everything stuck to the bottom. Simmer until it's almost gone, about 2 minutes.
- 5
Add the tomatoes, oregano, pepper flakes, and Parmesan rind. Simmer gently, partially covered, for 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Season with salt and pepper.
- 6
Meanwhile, cook the penne in well-salted boiling water until 2 minutes shy of the package time. Scoop out 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- 7
Fish out the rind. Add the pasta, 1/2 cup pasta water, butter, and Parmesan to the sauce. Toss over medium heat for 2 minutes, until glossy and clinging. Add more pasta water if it tightens up.
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