Serves 8

This is a riff on an old Mario Batali Recipe (forgive me, I know he was cancelled), streamlined to make it faster, easier, and a little lighter. It’s such a crowd pleaser.

1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 ribs celery, roughly chopped
¼ cup olive oil 1lb ground beef
1lb ground turkey
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 cup milk
1 cup wine (white or red)
1 cup water
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In the bowl of a food processer, pulse the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery until finely chopped, but not a paste. You should still see bits of all the vegetables. In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add the oil. Add the vegetables from the food processor and a big pinch of salt, and cook until the onion is translucent and everything has softened a bit, about 5-7 minutes. Turn the heat to high and add both the beef and turkey, using a spoon to break it apart. Cook the meat until it no longer looks raw. Add the tomato paste, wine, water, and thyme, bring to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and serve over pasta (I like rigatoni with this sauce because it fills the tubes and makes for delicious bites : ).