| garlic | 1 clove |
| white onion | 1/2 small |
| butter | 1 T |
| olive oil | 1 T |
| ground beef | 1/2 lb |
| bell pepper | 1/2 large (optional) |
| salami | 1 oz (optional) |
| sage | 1/2 t |
| thyme | 1/4 t (optional) |
| salt | 1/4 t |
| tomato paste | 6 oz |
| tomato sauce or purée | 2 c |
| tomatoes | 2 c |
| mushrooms | 4 oz |
| bay leaves | 2 whole |
| basil | 1 t |
| oregano | 1 t |
| rosemary | 1/2 t |
| cloves | 5 whole or 1/4 t ground |
| chianti | 4 T |
| MSG | 1/4 t (optional) |
| sugar | to taste |
Regular white mushrooms, dried porcini or a mixture of the two may be used. A good Genoa style salami should be used.
Blend the sage, thyme and salt into the ground beef. Finely chop the garlic and onion and saute together with butter and olive oil in a skillet. Chop the bellpepper, mushrooms and salami. Add the bellpepper and the mushrooms to the saute and cook until softened. Add the meat and salami to the saute and cook until the meat is thoroughly browned. In a large pot or a crockpot combine the tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, bay leaves broken in half, rosemary, basil, oregano and cloves and bring to a boil. Add the meat mixture and continue to boil stirring occasionally. After one hour lower the heat so that the sauce simmers slowly. Remove the bay leaves and add the chianti and MSG. Add sugar and salt to taste. Cover the pot and continue to simmer for at least three hours stirring occasionally.
The sauce may be served after cooking. However, the sauce is much improved if it is allowed to cool in the pot overnight and then reheated. This sauce can be frozen.
Recipe from An Eclectic Cookbook (Copyright © 1987, John S. Garavelli), page 4–10.
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