Bolognese, that rich, thick, meaty sauce, is a one of Larry’s favorite dishes when we visit an Italian restaurant. Several months ago, I went searching for a classic recipe so that I could duplicate it at home. I landed on Marcella Hazan’s sauce recipe; she is the cookbook author who is attributed with changing the way Americans cook Italian food. I have slightly customized her directives. Hers makes a small batch that serves 4-6 people. I’ve tripled the recipe because if you are going to take all the time and effort to make this masterpiece, you certainly should have some extra sauce to put in the freezer and enjoy at another meal. Also authentic Italians would say that my ratio of sauce to pasta is wrong; they would eat more pasta and less sauce. The beauty of being the chef is that you get to serve it however you want! This sauce takes at least 5 hours to prepare, with most of that time spent watching the pot simmer away.
Bolognese Sauce yields 6 heaping cups, enough for 12-14 servings
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped celery
2 c. chopped carrot
2 lbs. ground beef chuck
1 lb. ground pork
salt and pepper to taste
grated nutmeg
3 c. whole milk
3 c. dry white wine (nearly a whole bottle)
3 cans (28 oz size) imported Italian plum tomatoes, squished up with the juice
3 pounds pasta (or more for a more authentic pasta/sauce ratio)
freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese for serving
In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the oil and butter. Add the onion (I used the food processor to dice); with the heat on medium, cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Add the celery and carrot (I also chopped these in the food processor). Cook for a few minutes, stirring the mixture together.
Add the ground beef and pork and salt and pepper. Crumble the meat as it cooks, so that its in small pieces. When the meat is no longer pink, add the milk. Over low heat, let this simmer gently, with the pot uncovered. Stir occasionally and let it bubble away until all the liquid has been reduced, about an hour. Add a small grating of whole nutmeg (about 1/2 teaspoon).
Add the wine; let it simmer, uncovered until it has evaporated. Could take up to an hour. Pour the tomatoes into a bowl and squish them with your (clean) hands. Add the tomatoes to the mixture, stirring to coat all the ingredients well. When the mixture bubbles, reduce the heat to very low so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers. Cook, uncovered for at least 3 hours, stirring from time to time. At the end you should have a very thick sauce. Taste and add more salt as needed.
Toss with cooked pasta and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the side. I think flat, wide linguine noodles are the perfect pasta for this sauce.
