This is a fast and easy weeknight sauce that tastes like it simmered all day on the stovetop! As always, I am a flexible cook, so you do not have to use pancetta or beef. Feel free to leave out the pancetta if not readily available, and substitute turkey for the beef. The point is that you don’t need a jar of processed sugar loaded sauce to enjoy an easy weeknight meal!

 

Here is what I used:

Pancetta
1lb ground beef
1cup of bread crumbs (from a stale loaf of bread that I ground and keep in the freezer)
1/2 cup milk ( to soak bread crumbs)
1/4 cup pecorino romano finely grated cheese
2 eggs
1 onion (chopped)
1 can (28oz) of crushed tomatoes ( nothing added, just tomatoes)
1 can(28oz) of cherry tomatoes ( you can use fresh if available, or just add a second can of crushed if you cannot find)
Basil
Salt
Pepper
2 pounds of spaghetti or pasta of choice.

Cooks note: Lots of canned tomatoes out there, but what you want to look for is “flash fresh,” or just tomatoes. Stay away from “Italian” seasoned, or anything added. It really takes away from that fresh taste you are seeking!

Let us get started. Start to finish, I had dinner on the table in less than an hour. There was plenty for 12, so I shared with my neighbors. If you want to just serve 4 or 5, you can save the sauce for another night. It is great on pizza!

Add milk to breadcrumbs, and let sit to absorb the liquid.

Preheat your sauce pan with olive oil. I prefer stainless over non-stick when I am making a sauce. But either will work.

Put your well-salted pasta water on to boil. Enough for 2 lbs.

Chop your onion, and thinly slice a very small amount of pancetta. Mine is about 4 inches wide, 2 inches thick, and I took four tiny slices and then chopped.
Add to the pan.

Cook medium low until translucent and pancetta is slightly crisped.

Meanwhile, squeeze breadcrumbs in your clean hand to remove milk, and add moist bread to a mixing bowl. Add two eggs, cheese, chopped basil, and meat. Add about 1 tsp of kosher salt.

Using your clean hands add meat, and knead mixture just like you would meatloaf. Just don’t over mix, or you break down the mixture, and it may become dry. You just want it all combined well.

Cooks Note: At this point, you can make meatballs out of this mixture. But tonight, I want dinner on the table, and I don’t have time for meatballs!

Add this to the onions and pancetta, and cook low and slow breaking up as you go. Add a bit more olive oil if you did not use a fatty meat, or if you use turkey. Once you have browned your meat, add your two cans of tomatoes.

Add about 1/2 a can of water if sauce seems too thick. Bring sauce to a boil, and then down to a bubbly simmer. Stir frequently.

Meanwhile, prepare some delicious fresh garlic bread, and salad. To save time, we used a bagged salad, rinsed well and dressed.

Once the water is at a rolling boil ( I cannot stress enough how important a rolling boil is to pasta), add your pasta and cook according to that brand. The time is always on the package, and is usually pretty accurate! I check a minute or so before, as we love our pasta al dente!

Cooks Note: If you are only using one pound of pasta, add only half of the sauce, and save the rest for another night.

Once pasta is cooked, drain and add straight to the sauce and toss well. Add additional cheese and serve piping hot!

As I mentioned in the beginning, this took under an hour to make, and that was with the doorbell ringing, and me stopping along the way to photograph my cooking steps. On the table, fresh and delicious in no time at all, and quite inexpensive for such a large pot! You can even make this as your low and slow cooked Sunday dinner. I won’t tell a soul how easy it was!

Buon Appetito!