Basic Meat Ragu
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 1 fresh oregano sprig
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 10 1/2 to 16 ounces ground beef chuck
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/3 cup red wine (whatever youre having with dinner)
- 1 cup chopped or crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup tomato puree
- 1/2 cup water (for electric pressure cooker only)
- Heat the pressure cooker base on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil, and heat until the butter has melted.
- Add the onion, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and saute, stirring infrequently, until the onion has softened.
- Stir in the carrot and celery.
- Move the contents to the side in the pressure cooker.
- Add the beef and garlic and stir to break up.
- Saute, stirring infrequently, until the beef is brown on at least one side and the juices have evaporated, for 5 minutes, or longer if there are a lot of juices.
- To deglaze the cooker, stir in the red wine and cook until it evaporates completely Pour in the chopped tomatoes and the tomato puree; add the water if using.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker.
- Cook at high pressure (see Notes) for 15 minutes/stovetop or 18 to 20 minutes/electric (or nonstandard stovetop).
- When the time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Normal Release method (see Notes).
- Fish out and discard the herb stems.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the sauce and stir until melted.
- Serve the sauce over pasta or incorporate in lasagna or a similar recipe.
unsalted butter, olive oil, yellow onion, thyme, oregano, salt, freshly ground black pepper, carrot, celery stalk, ground beef, garlic, red wine, tomatoes, tomato puree, water
Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/basic-meat-ragu (may not work)