Lora's Bolognese Sauce

With all the excitement of posting the recipe, and more photos, I totally deleted the Bolognese Sauce photo, so I must post it separately. Here it is, again. It's nice to have a memorable comfort food for your family, and this is one of them. This is not just a meat sauce, but Bolognese Sauce, originated in Bologna Italy. The nice part about the Bolognese is that it is rich, and thick, well concentrated. If you don't like the thickness of the sauce, you can always thin it out with plain marinara sauce. The best way to eat this is in its original form. My daughter learned to make this from her mother-in-law, in Como, Italy. She is very fortunate to learn from the best. No wonder her son, my son-in-law is an executive chef with his own restaurant here, locally. So here we go again, I am copying, and posting my daughter's recipe from her blog.

You say meat sauce...I say Bolognese...courtesy, of  

cook uncovered

I am married to a cute Executive Chef. He's from Italy (see profile). Cute chef can cook. Cute chef's mom cooks too. I know, I am lucky. I am surrounded by good food and that is why I started this blog...to share the food love. Chef's mamma has taught me a recipe or two. One of them is her ragu'. Also know as bolognese sauce or just plain ol' meat sauce here in the USA. But this isn't a "plain ol' meat sauce". It is more than that. Flavorful and worth the extra time.  I believe that the longer you simmer this sauce, the better the flavor. You can use whatever ground beef you prefer. I found when I use organic beef that the sauce really tastes better.  This traditional recipe originated in Emilia-Romagna, Italy's richest gastronomic region. I have come across many versions of the sauce but prefer chef's mamma's recipe. A few times I have really planned ahead and made my ragu with ground beef, veal and lamb. You don't have to use the holy trinity of meats. Ground beef will do just fine. If you are a really good planner, you could make extra. Freeze a portion for another night and when you are scrambling for something delicious to cook you can find in the freezer your ragu. Homemade with amore.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup of onion chopped (you can use sweet onion or yellow onion)
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrot, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 pound pancetta, chopped (optional)
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes (I use San Marzano)
• 6 fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Chef's mamma adds a bouillon cube to the sauce. If you try it, add less salt. Sometimes I do a variation. I add a touch of salt and a little bouillon. 

This is the bouillon brand I like. It's called "Better than Bouillon". It does not have MSG or any other yucky chemicals. I found out I get headaches from food that have MSG and sodium benzoate. It costs a little more but my jar lasts a long time because I use it sparingly. The flavor is amazing. 

Directions

In medium size sauce pan or a Dutch oven heat the oil on medium hi heat.  Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes more. If you are adding the pancetta, now is the time to add it and cook for 5 minutes, then add the beef and saute, stirring frequently.

Break up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens. Add the wine and the remaining ingredients and simmer. 

I simmer my ragu for about 2 hours.  If you have extreme amounts of extra time, you are very talented or you are my mother-in-law, you will make your pasta fresh.  I usually boil a box of Barilla spaghetti, penne or another brand of tagliatelle.  Shred some fresh parmesan cheese on top or you could pour it on. We have a gigantic chunk of real Parmigiano Reggiano that Zio Antonio brought us from Italy. It was like he brought us a block of solid gold.