3 lbs of Ontario veal shoulder
Salt & pepper to taste
2 glugs of good olive oil (about 1⁄4 cup) 2 medium onions, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup of red wine
3 quarts (12 cups) of tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
Instructions:
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Season your veal shoulder with salt and pepper. Place veal in the heated oil in one single batch – be careful not to overcrowd your pot – and then keep turning to brown on all sides. Remove from the oil when browned and set aside. Repeat with remaining veal.
Add onions, carrots and celery to the pot and cook until softened, stirring frequently. Add tomato paste and stir to thoroughly mix with the diced vegetables. Add red wine and stir, scraping up all the delicious bits and deglazing the pan while cooking down the red wine.
Add the browned veal back into the pot and stir it into the vegetable mixture. Add a dash more of red wine if you’d like and let it cook down a bit.
Add the tomato sauce, 2 bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for a minimum of 2 hours (simmer longer if you can. I simmer mine for 3 hours).
Serve the sauce mixed in with your favourite cooked pasta and top with the tender, fall off the bone pieces of veal.
Recipe courtesy of John Catucci
