Pasta Sauce with Burrata

A couple of years ago we took my dream trip to Italy.  I desperately wanted to see Rome and  take a gondola ride in Venice.  The trip we booked included Florence as well.  What a beautiful city!  On our first day in Florence we had about an hour to grab some lunch before our tour of the city started.  Outside the Duomo there was a pizzeria with cafe seating called Mister Pizza.  We had already sampled the pizza in Venice that was so wonderful.  We ordered a small pizza to share and when the waitress asked if we wanted fresh burrata on it we couldn't resist.  It was delicious!  We have had it since but when I saw this recipe for a pasta sauce with Burrata I had to try. 

1 tbsp olive oil 

1 large onion, finely minced

1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 lb lean ground beef

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh black pepper 

1 tbsp dried herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary)

1 tbsp tomato paste

4 cups crushed tomatoes (2 x 14.5 Oz cans OR 1 28 Oz)

1 tbsp sugar

2-3 whole cloves (the spice)

2 cups water or stock of your choice

1 package cooked pasta of your choice, plus 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water

To serve: Fresh parsley, burrata, cracked black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil

Sauté onions, green pepper and garlic using the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot until the onions are translucent (10 minutes). Add ground beef and brown, 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the salt, pepper, herbs and tomato paste. Continue to cook while stirring, 10 minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes, cloves, sugar and water or stock - Turn heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring halfway through. The sauce should reduce somewhat and become darker in color. Remove cloves.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and mix through very gently with the heat on the lowest setting. My grandmother would add some of the pasta water to thin it out just a bit, then allow it to cook for 5 minutes more and add an optional tbsp of butter to make the sauce glisten. The best part for us was that the pasta was tender having soaked up all the sauce.

Plate and top with pieces of burrata, fresh pepper, olive oil and fresh parsley.