Cook’s dream: A homemade, meaty tomato sauce that doesn’t take much time to make but is still mouthwateringly good.

One easy way to make this a reality is with a recipe featured along with a variety of timesaving ideas in the first issue of Everyday Food, a magazine from Martha Stewart Living.

The pocket-size magazine offers a no-nonsense collection of clearly written recipes illustrated with plenty of color photos. Recipes range from winter soups and stews, pasta and other main dishes (including vegetarian), to side dishes and desserts.

The sauce for this dish is based on the famous ragu alla Bolognese. The addition of milk might seem unusual, the recipe editor says, but it’s traditional in northern Italy, where butter and cream, as well as milk, are essential to the cuisine.

Pasta and Easy Italian Meat Sauce

—-

4 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 carrot, grated (about 1/2 cup)

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3/4 pound ground beef

28-ounce can whole tomatoes

1/2 cup milk

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 pound fettuccine

Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the carrot, onion and garlic. Add the ground beef, and cook until it turns from pink to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and their liquid, crushing them with the back of a large spoon. Stir in the milk, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the fettuccine until al dente according to package instructions, about 12 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and drain the fettuccine. Return it to the warm pot. Add meat sauce and toss. Add pasta water as needed if the sauce seems dry. To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings.