A classic meat sauce that is traditionally paired with pasta and untraditionally put on chicken, baked sweet potatoes, or roasted vegetables. Let’s get into it:

The Recipe:

• 1 pound ground meat (a mix of beef, pork, and dark meat turkey is my favorite. Many people use lamb)
• 1 yellow onion (chopped)
• 3 garlic cloves (sliced)
• 1 carrot (finely diced)
• 2 celery stalks (finely diced)
• 1 pound tomatoes (heirloom preferred) (chopped)
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes (with garlic if available)
• 3oz tomato paste (half of a small can)
• Red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, parmesan rind

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Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown in a pot, breaking into small pieces. Remove once cooked.

Add some olive oil to that same pot and cook onion, garlic, carrots, and celery with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until soft.

Add fresh tomato to vegetables and cook 5-7 minutes with 3T basil, 1T oregano, and 2t thyme (cut quantities in half if using dried herbs). Stir in 1T garlic powder and 2t onion powder. Add remaining tomato products.

Tuck the parmesan rind into the sauce, put the meat back into the pot, and cook on med-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes until the sauce has developed a rich flavor. Add a glug of olive oil and more seasoning if desired.

Serve classically over pasta with shaved parmesan and a bottle of red wine.