Red wine sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g carrot(s)
• 1 small celeriac, approx. 400 g
• 1 leek(s)
• 1 tbsp clarified butter
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 sprig of oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 liter red wine, e.g. Primitivo
• 250 ml port wine
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 onions
• 1 kg beef bones, chopped into smaller pieces
• some salt and pepper
• some paprika powder, smoked
• 1 ½ liters of water, cold
• possibly garlic clove(s), fresh

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 4 hours; Total time approx. 4 hours 30 minutes

Peel and chop the onions and carrots, clean and chop the leeks. Peel the garlic (optional) and press it down with a knife or the ball of your hand. Heat the clarified butter and fry the chopped beef bones until golden brown. They can get a little blackened. Depending on the size of the pot, set the bones aside and fry the vegetables until golden brown. Once the vegetables are browned, add the tomato paste and fry. Then add the spices and herbs, mix everything together, then return the bones to the pot and fry everything together for another 2 minutes. Deglaze the vegetables and bones with 250 ml of red wine and reduce the liquid. Repeat this process two more times. Once the 750 ml of red wine has reduced, add 1.5 liters of cold water and simmer gently with the pot uncovered for 3 – 3.5 hours. After 2.5-3 hours of boiling, add a tablespoon of sugar to another pot and caramelize, then deglaze with 250ml of red wine. Reduce the red wine to about 100ml, pour in the port wine and reduce until you have about 50-80ml of red wine reduction left. The reduction should have a thick consistency. After about 3-3.5 hours, the water should have reduced considerably and a nice brown, spicy sauce should have formed. Strain the sauce through a large sieve and reduce by about 2/3. You should end up with about 250-300ml of sauce. The less the amount, the more intense. Deglaze the red wine reduction with the reduced sauce and thicken to taste, if necessary or desired. The sauce should be dark in color, slightly thickened, and have an intense red wine flavor. Tip: I like to make this sauce with a Primitivo, as it has a wonderfully strong and full-bodied flavor. But any red wine you enjoy will also work.