This is a hardy sauce, perfect for winter months. Dress it on 2 pounds of pasta, you can also use this sauce to create a beautiful lasagna. This sauce also can be prepared entirely in adavance and refriferated for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 3 months.
2 35 ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions ( roughly 2 cups)
9 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 pound of ground beef
1 pound of ground pork
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
3/4 cup of dry white wine
1/3 cup tomato paste
3 to 4 cups hot water
Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill. ( you can also buy plum crush tomatoes to save this step).
Heat olive oil in a 5 quart pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6-8 minutes. make a little room in the center of the pot, dump in the garlic and cook till light brown, about 2 minutes.
Add the ground beef and pork. Season salt across the meat.
Cook, but stir the meat. This will break it up and the water will release and evaporate. This will take about 10-13 minutes. Add bay leaves, oregano and the wine . Bring to a boil and scrape the bottom to avoid the meat from over browning until the wine is almost all evaporated. Pour in tomatoes, then stir in the tomato paste until dissolved. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to allow the sauce to simmer.
Cook 2-3 hours uncovered until the sauce takes on a fantastic brick red color. Add the hot water 1/4 cup at a time, as needed, to maintain the level for the length of time the sauce cooks. Skim off any fat floating on the top and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
