I love a good bolognese, but sometimes I just don’t have time on a weeknight to invest in making it. That’s where this kind of pasta sauce comes in. It cooks in the time it takes to boil a big pot of water, and it uses enough veal to flavor the sauce but not enough to make it really heavy. The cherry tomatoes have a natural sweetness and don’t need to cook down too much. It’s the perfect indulgence for a weeknight treat.
Weeknight Veal Ragu
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oregano, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can San Marzano cherry tomatoes (or other San Marzanos if you can’t find the cherry tomatoes)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 box or pound of long pasta (spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine, etc)
Cook your pasta in salted boiling water a minute less than the package instructions. Meanwhile, brown the veal in a wide saute pan. (Using a wide pan will help the sauce cook quickly because it maximizes the amount of sauce in contact with the pan).
Add the onion once it has developed a nice browned color. Let the onion sweat down with a little salt to season. Add the oregano and garlic and stir through. Add the tomato paste and allow it to rust for a few minutes. Add the wine and tomatoes and cook down for 5 minutes. Once the sauce has reduced a little and thickened, add the cooked pasta with a splash of the pasta cooking water. Stir to cook together for the last minute and add the cheese.
When should the San Marzano cherry tomatoes be added?
Thanks so much for the question, the tomatoes should go in with the wine before you reduce down the sauce.
Great – thanks! In the absence of San Marzano at the store, is there another brand you’d recommend?
San Marzano is actually not a brand, it’s a region where the best Italian tomatoes come from. There are many out there, just check the label–it’s usually very prominent if they come from San Marzano.