Sugo Bugiardo or "Fake" Sauce

This recipe comes from a restaurant in Italy called Fattoria il Colle via a Tuscan food blog by Emiko Davies.  The sauce name Sugo Bugiardo indicates that the sauce itself is a fake or liar.   It contains a cheaper cut of meat such as sausage rather than beef.  These “fake” sauces came about when times were hard.  These are traditional peasant meals that “stretch” the food dollar to make an excellent, tasty meal with little money.  The Tuscan peasants used mostly leftovers to make these meals.  Traditionally, this meal is served with Pappardelle but I used Campanelle pasta which is shaped like a flower or  bell because I could not find any Pappardelle.  I liked the way this sauce tasted with the Campanelle even though it wasn’t what was recommended.  A good substitute that is recommended on some blogs is fettuccine.    

Sugo Bugiardo

Serves 6-8

1 Onion, finely chopped

2 Carrots, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

Italian parsley

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

½ pound pancetta

4 Tuscan style sausages, taken out of their skin casings

1 glass of red wine

2 lbs canned whole tomatoes (plum)

Salt and pepper , to taste

1.       Prepare the soffrito (sauce base) by chopping the onions, carrot and celery finely and sautéing them gently in some olive oil.  When they are golden, add the pancetta and sausage meat, crumbled. 

2.       Brown the meat slightly.

3.       Add the glass of wine, tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. 

4.       Bring it all to a simmer on low heat to reduce slightly.  Cook for 1 hour.

5.       Meanwhile, put on a pot of water to cook the pasta (this goes well with ribbon pasta like  Pappardelle or any long pasta). Even a bag of "noodle" type pasta would work.

6.       Serve with your pasta of choice, a sprinkle of parsley and some Parmesano Reggiano.

 Enjoy!