Indispensable Meat Sauce for Pasta

Preparation

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain fat. Set aside.
2. Add oil to the Dutch oven and heat over low heat. Add prosciutto, onion, carrots, celery, and bell pepper and sauté until softened, 15 to 20 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes more. Add wine, increase heat to medium-high and cook until the wine has evaporated. Stir in tomatoes, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and the reserved beef. Simmer, uncovered, stirring often, for an hour. Add water and bulgur. Simmer until the bulgur is tender, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Tips & Notes

• Note: Bulgur is made by parboiling, drying and coarsely grinding or cracking wheat berries. Don't confuse bulgur with cracked wheat, which is simply that—cracked wheat. Since the parboiling step is skipped, cracked wheat must be cooked for up to an hour whereas bulgur simply needs a quick soak in hot water for most uses. Look for it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets, near other grains, or online at kalustyans.com, lebaneseproducts.com.

Nutrition