This is one of my favorite recipes to make and combined with a nice spaghetti one of my favorite meals.
Start with some panceta (Italian bacon), about 8-10 slices. Dice it (cut lengthwise and then cross-cut to make small square pieces).
You will also need to dice one large onion, a carrot and one or two celery stalks. This is called a miropois or soffrito.
Heat a large heavy base pot or dutch oven (more on this soon) until you can feel the heat when you place your hand about 2 inches over the surface. Add the panceta and cook stirring until it browns. Add a bit of butter and the soffrito and cook over medium-high heat until it browns and caramelizes ( a good 10 minutes).
Then add the meat. There are many schools of thought here. You can use beef, veal, pork or any combination you like. Experiment and see what you like best. I use 1/2 beef 1/2 veal for a total of about 1.5 pounds of meat. Cook on medium-high heat until the meat turns dark brown stirring often.
With the heat at high add about a cup of red wine (don't use what you wouldn't drink). Immediately stir and scrape the bottom of the pot to get all the small bits of meat that are stuck there (this is called "deglazing the pot" and significantly adds to the flavor). Reduce heat to medium and let the wine cook down completely.
Then add a can of whole or diced tomatoes including the liquid and a small can of tomato paste.
Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some dried thyme and/or oregano and if you like it spicy some chilly pepper flakes or cayenne powder.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer.
This is the key to a good outcome. The longer it simmers the better the sauce so don't rush it.
I usually make this on a Sunday when I can let it cook for at least 2 hours.
Serve it with spaghetti or fettuccine and finish with some chopped parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
You can also refrigerate or even freeze for future use. I made this today but will only serve it later this week. It did taste it though and I think it was a success. I can't wait to have some more.
Enjoy
8 comments:
I really enjoyed your blog. Bolognese isn't something that I make often but when my daughter said that her school had "the best meat sauce" so the gauntlet was thrown down.
I took two beautiful giant veal chops and put them through the meat grinder. Total excess I know, but it was the best ground veal imaginable.
Everything else was very similar to your recipe and it was a lot of fun.
Thank you for posting - it looks like you are enjoying your new kitchen.
- Blaine
How much of the canned tomatoes did you use. It looks like, from the pictures, it is a large can. Thanks for any help you can provide. Also, I see you don't use cream like other recipes use. Sounds like it will work without it.
Rob
rhaspen@hotmail.com
Rob,
I used one large can as you guessed.
I don't use cream because it is rich enough but I'm sure it would be great with it also.
Thanks for your comment.
Dmeat
Recipe sounds great and I cant wait to try it. Many people cant tell a good sauce from swill, sadly, many just open a can...sad sad sad...thanks for the recipe!!
Tim
Just wanted to say, i tried your recipe just now and it was very very good. oh but I didn't have any red wine so I (forced) tried a rice wine i had in the pantry and it was actually quite good.
I just read your blog and simply readng your recipe and looking at the photos brought back some wonderful memories of the time spent making such a sauce. I use a combination of beef and veal and like Rob I used cream as well. The first time I made the sauce I used it to make a lasagna and together with the bechamel sauce between pasta layers it was wonderful.
I have since used the recipe to make a pasta sauce that guests rave about. I'm so glad to see others on line who enjoy it.
I have been making this sauce for over a year now and will never make anything else for a "spaghetti" sauce. I do tweak it a bit as I add some red peppers to the mix. I can't seem to help myself when it comes to red peppers. Anyway, great and simple recipe.
although this recipe sounds great, unfortunately it is not a 'classic' bolognese sauce.
you must use a mixture of beef and pork as the mince, and make sure to use white wine instead of red.
Finally the secret ingredient is actually MILK.
this may sound disgusting but i spent some time in bologna and the cooks from the province all use milk in there traditional style sauce. It assists in milding the sauce without making it creamy and the sauce its self thickens really well. if you do some quick research on google, you will find a number of great classic recipes using the above.
I hope that helped a little.
Post a Comment