Red Wine Ragù over Fettuccine

Step 1

Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place ground beef in the pot in large hand-pressed pieces. Season generously with salt and pepper, and saute it until cooked through and starting to brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef onto a plate and set aside, but leave the fat in the pot.

Step 2

Add the olive oil and the onions to the pot, and season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Sauté onions for about 5 minutes, or until they start to soften and darken slightly. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste to coat the onions and cook for 1-2 minutes until the tomato paste deepens in color to a dark red-brown and sticks to the bottom of the pot. Add the beef back to the pot along with the wine to deglaze. Scrape the bottom of the pot with your spoon to help release the fond.

Step 3

Add the can of crushed tomatoes in 2-3 batches, allowing the sauce to come back up to a boil before adding more tomatoes. Then fill the can about 1/2 of the way with water, swirling it around to get all the extra tomato off the sides of the can, and add the water to the pot as well. Bring ragu to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1.5 hours partially covered, so steam can escape. Stir the sauce occasionally to make sure the bottom isn't burning.

Step 4

When finished, grate the other garlic clove directly into the sauce. Cook for 2 more minutes then season with salt to taste and add fresh parsley.

Step 5

Once sauce has simmered for 1 hour, heat a large pot of salted water over a high flame until boiling. The water should taste fairly salty, like the saltiness of soup, but not as salty as the ocean. Once boiling, drop the pasta into the water. When pasta is cooked to your desired doneness, turn off the heat, strain the pasta through a collander, and return pasta to the pot along with 2-3 ladles of sauce, stirring to coat. Place pasta into a large serving bowl and top with more sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan, crushed red pepper, and more parsley if you'd like.