SERVES 6

raditional meat sauce takes at least 3 or 4 hours to cook. This one takes about 1 hour. I've replaced the traditional mixture of ground beef, pork and veal with extra lean ground beef and chicken breast, replaced butter with olive oil, and removed the pancetta. The milk helps to tenderize the lean meat, so you don't end up with little hard pellets. You can barely detect the whole wheat pasta, and it's quite filling, which helps you control your portions. This new recipe is reduced by 400 calories, 27 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, and 500 mg of sodium.

1. Heat wine in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer until it is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cover dried mushrooms with hot water and allow to soak until soft, about 10 -15 minutes. Remove mushrooms and pour soaking liquid through a paper towel-lined mesh strainer.

2. Place carrots in a food processor and pulse 10 times. Scrape down sides. Add onion and pulse 10 more times until both veggies are finely minced. Set aside in a bowl. Add softened mushrooms and pulse until finely ground, scraping down sides as necessary. Transfer to veggie bowl. Add canned tomatoes with juice and pulse 7 times to chop tomatoes.

3. Heat oil over medium-high heat in your largest skillet. Add processed veggies and cook 5 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add ground meats and use a wooden spatula to quickly break into large chunks. Pour the milk over the meat and begin to break the meat into ½-inch chunks. When milk begins to bubble, reduce heat to medium and continue braking meat in to even smaller bits. Cook about 20 minutes, until most of the liquid is evaporated. Stir in the tomato paste. Clear a little space in the center of the pan for the sliced mushrooms and cook about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, mushroom soaking liquid, salt, pepper, oregano, and sugar. Simmer about 15 minutes until sauce is reduced and slightly thick. Add reduced wine and peas. Simmer about 5 minutes.

4. While waiting for milk to evaporate, begin to cook spaghetti according to package directions. Reserve ¼ cup cooking water before draining and add it back to drained pasta in the stock pot. Stir in a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce. Divide pasta among 6 bowls. Top with 1 cup of sauce. Garnish with 1 tablespoon grated parmesan.