Slow Braised Meat Sauce

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I was asked to submit a recipe for Sauce Bolognese, to Swedish food blogger Lisa. However, I'm not a huge bolognese fan. At all. So this sauce, which was the result of several hours in the kitchen yesterday, is most resolutely NOT a bolognese. It is however, very tasty. And just the thing on a cold winter night. If you have a few spare hours - it's not labor intensive, but it does take time - give it a shot! If not, hold out, I'll be posting a super quick pasta sauce recipe in a few days.

Slow Braised Meat Sauce
Serves 4-6

150 g smoked lardons - bacon is fine
5 yellow onions, fairly small
1 tbsp tomato purée
600 g beef - shoulder is good.
4-5 cloves of roasted garlic
3-400 ml white wine (Italian is preferrable)
water
sage
tarragon
thyme
salt
white pepper
1/2 - 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
worcestershire sauce

Start by dicing the lardons very finely, and slice the onions. Fry the lardons in a large pot, no extra fat needed. When it's browned nicely, lower the heat a lot, and add the onions. Pour over about 100 ml of wine, and 200 ml of water. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer slowly for half an hour.

Add the tomato purée to the pot, and mix well. Cut the beef into three or four large pieces, and add to the pot. Remove any tough or stringy bits. Add the herbs - dried are perfectly fine here, and indeed better than fresh since the fresh would lose their flavor with the long simmer anyway - and the garlic. Add more wine and water, until the meat is just about covered.

Simmer on very low heat for two hours. Check every half hour so it's not drying out.

After two hours, the meat should be really tender. Lift it out, and shred it, using two forks. Put it back into the pot, and add more water to thin out the sauce slightly. Season with salt, white pepper, white wine vinegar, and a splash of worcestershire sauce.

Boil some really good pasta (here'd be a good opportunity to go for homemade, if you can) in plenty of salted water. When the pasta is just tender, drain but save some of the water. Put the pasta back in the pot, add a few spoonfuls of sauce, and mix together with a few spoons of pasta water and a pat of butter until shiny and delicious. Serve with more sauce on top.

Recipe in Swedish:
Stillsamt Kokt Pastasås