Christmas Pasta

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound pancetta, thick cut, chopped into small bits (Italian cured pork, ask at deli counter)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
• 1 pound combined ground beef, pork and veal
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup good quality dry red wine
• 1 cup prepared beef stock, paper container or canned
• 2 (32-ounce) cans chunky style crushed tomatoes
• Handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon (a couple of pinches) allspice or cinnamon
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• 2 pounds penne rigate, cooked to al dente
• Grated Pecorino Romano, as an accompaniment
• Fresh, crusty bread, for mopping

Directions

Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and brown to render the fat. Transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. To the pan add the oil, and the meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and pancetta bits.

Chop carrot, celery, and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.

Stir in parsley, allspice, or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, minimum, before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.

Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.