Kid-approved Sauce! (sugo al pancetta)
This simple sauce draws from five key ingredients - on of which is pancetta. In France, they are called lardons and in the US its basically cubed bacon. The sauce comes together in about 30 minutes and works well on pasta or paired with meatballs. Easy and tasty. Enjoy!
Ingredients
one small carrot, finely chopped
one small or half a medium size onion, finely chopped
one stick of celery, finely chopped
three Tablespoons olive oil
one 700 grams/24 oz jar of passata (strained tomato, I like Mutti or Pomi)
200 grams/7.5 oz cubed pancetta (In the US you can find this at Trader Joe’s/Harris Teeter)
Options to add in: cheese rind (for richness) or fresh basil at the end when you have 5 minutes to go
Directions
In a large stock pot mix the carrot, celery and onion with three tablespoons olive oil on medium-high heat and cover. Once you let the vegetables “sweat” a bit, around 2-3 minutes, remove the cover and stir. Keep cooking the vegetables for an additional 3 minutes. You want them cooked but not browned.
Next, add all of the pancetta and stir. Keep an eye on this because you don’t want it to stick and burn. Once the pancetta is cooked, around 4 minutes, carefully add the jar of passata + 350 g/ 12 oz of water. This is a good chance to rinse out what is left in the jar. Reduce the heat to medium and cover. Allow the mix to simmer, stirring every few minutes for about 15-20 minutes. Once the sauce has reduced by a third its done!