Hot In Little Rock

Even on the hottest day of summer (all right, we are aware that summer has only just officially begun) we sometimes long for a good bowl of pasta and meat sauce.  Just last evening it was our spouse who asked, almost plaintively, “Couldn’t we have pasta tonight…and your meat sauce.”  We try never to disappoint our spouse.

Start by placing a pound of ground chuck (or turkey) into a medium pan.  Brown it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Meanwhile, cut a large green pepper, a large onion, and two large cloves of garlic into a medium dice.  When the meat is browned, add the vegetables.  When the onions are translucent, add ½ teaspoon each of dried oregano, basil and sugar. Finally add two, 14.5 oz cans of tomatoes.

Wait a minute. Arkansas tomatoes are some of the best anywhere.  Canned tomatoes are for the winter when we can’t get those luscious, red wonders from our natural state.  So, forget the canned tomatoes and instead dice six big, fresh tomatoes and add them to the pot.  Much better.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, add about a cup of good red wine, cover and cook for about 30 minutes .  (If you like a richer sauce, add a small can of tomato paste.)  The secret of really good meat sauce is achieving your own taste expectations, so adjust seasonings and even the amount of tomato in the sauce. The wine is optional…not for us, of course.  You can even leave out the meat altogether and increase the vegetables to include four, large carrots (finely diced).

Last night we enjoyed our pasta  with a bottle of 2006 Leeuwin Estate Siblings Shiraz from the Margaret River region of Western Australia.  Robert Mondavi selected the site for the Leeuwin Estate back in 1972, and it was a darn good choice.  The wine is the color of the finest rubies.  The aroma reminded us of being in a berry patch with rich earth beneath our feet. On the palate we were rewarded with raspberry and plum and a bit of pepper and spice.  Yum.

Hummmm, you might have guessed that we were not dining al fresco last night.  The air conditioning was cranked down to a comfortable 72 degrees – so pasta and meat sauce was a perfect summer meal…indoors..