Recipe: Sugo Finto, a.k.a. Fake Sauce

(Fake because it doesn't have any meat, but is still meaty.)

I tried this dish on my excursion to Tuscany this past week, and I (somewhat fearlessly) asked how it was made — my reward was a quick explanation from the chef. I jotted down really quick notes, and then did a bit more research once I got home, and made this version just for you!

Sugo Finto is a “peasant dish,” so of course it’s popular in restaurants now. It’s a familiar story: meat isn’t affordable, so if you want to make a classic Bolognese ragù, you instead make this “fake sauce.” I call BS. It’s perfectly fine to make this simply because it’s simple — though it does take some stovetop time — and because it’s simply delicious.

Sugo Finto

Serves 2-3, and can easily be doubled.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1-2 carrots, chopped

• 1 yellow onion, chopped

• 2-3 stalks celery, chopped

• 1/2 cup red wine

• 1 tsp dried basil

• 1/2 tsp chile flakes

• 1 bay leaf

• tomatoes

  • 1 can whole tomatoes, mashed into pieces, with juice, OR

  • 1 can diced tomatoes, OR

  • 1 big or two small fresh tomatoes, chopped, PLUS 1 cup vegetable stock, OR

  • 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped PLUS 1 cup vegetable stock

• salt and pepper

• cooked pasta, to your liking

• fresh-grated parmesan, to your liking

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven or other large pot, put the olive oil and garlic on medium heat. Let the garlic sizzle, maybe flip it around a bit, until it starts to brown and your kitchen is infused with that great cooked garlic smell. Remove the garlic and discard (or peel and spread on some crusty bread!).

   

   Let the garlic give its essence to the olive oil.

2. The sofrito — the holy trinity of onions, carrots, and celery — needs to be chopped small but not too fine, because this is going to be the umami “meatiness” of the dish. It will also cook better when everything is a similar chop-size. Dump it all in the pot with the oil, and turn it on medium-low heat.

   

   How it started, just beginning, after about a hour...

3. Cook the sofrito low and slow for two to two-and-a-half hours — yes, that’s a long time, but it’s worth it — stirring ever so often, until it’s cooked way down and the veggies take on a nice caramel color. This takes patience, but not a lot of work, because you need to get all the water out of the veggies, and then get them to brown up a bit, again to reach peak “meatiness.”

   

   Same amount of sofrito, but after cooking down for 2.5 hours. This is magical stuff right here.

4. Add the red wine and stir and cook until the wine is reduced by about half. Don’t skip this step, because — you guessed it — more “meatiness.”

5. Now add the bay leaf, basil, chile flakes, and tomatoes. You can be flexible with the tomatoes here, per the ingredient list, but you want about 1 cup of tomatoes + 1 cup of liquid.

   

   You want some really good, meaty tomatoes.

6. Add some salt and pepper

7. Get the pot to a low simmer and let it bubble with the lid on for 15 minutes.

8. Take the lid off and let it simmer for 15 minutes more, so it can reduce down nice and thick.

9. When you can see the sauce is close to being really thick, get your pasta cooked. You can use whatever shape you like from long noodles to rigatoni to gnocchi.
   

10. Drain the pasta, put it in with the sauce, stir it all up, make sure it’s heated thoroughly, and plate it with a fresh grind of Parmesan and a quick drizzle of EVOO, and maybe some basil or celery leaves to make it pretty.
    

11. ENJOY!

###