Basic Bolognese

My meat sauce includes items which I always have on hand and I make it all in one pot. This sauce is also the base for a proper Italian Lasagna made with Béchamel. So, make plenty and freeze it. A 6-quart Dutch oven works perfectly for this sauce recipe.

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbl olive oil, plus more to drizzle over plated pasta

• 1/2 large onion finely minced (can be grated or processed with carrots, celery and garlic) 

• 1 medium, finely minced carrot

• 2 stalks finely minced celery

• 1 clove finely minced garlic

• 1 28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

• 1 lb lean ground beef (can be 100% beef, or 50% pork or veal, or bison)

  • Notes, tips and tricks regarding the meat:

    • If you have a frozen package of ground meat with a little more or less than 1 lb, it’s fine.

    • In an authentic Bolognese, equal parts beef, veal and pork are used as the meat base. It’s delicious, but I use beef because I always have a pound of ground beef in my freezer.

    • Another advanced trick, is to start the base aromatics in the pot after rendering 4 oz. of chopped pancetta. This adds another layer of “meatiness” . Some chefs add chopped Mortadella too. I’m not a fan, but if you like the idea, try it. This is your recipe now!

• 1/2 cup dry white wine, or a light red wine. A strong red wine could overpower the sauce. The wine may be omitted if you don’t want to add it.

• 1 Tbl tomato paste - double concentrated is best

• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary (optional, but delicious) 

• 1/4 cup frozen green peas (optional)

• 1/2 cup whipping cream or half and half

• 2 tbl butter 

• salt and pepper

• 1 lb package of long, flat pasta, preferably egg (linguine, tagliatelle, pappardelle or fettuccine) - De Cecco Fettucine egg noodles are my favorite for this sauce. If you use this option you will need two packages. The egg pastas usually come in a flat box because they are delicate. If using semolina pasta, use fettuccine or a wider noodle, but not any thinner as they can’t stand up to the robust sauce.

  • You can cook only 1/2 package (1/2 pound) of dried pasta, and have enough sauce leftover for another batch

• Grated Parmesan cheese for topping - use the best quality you can afford.

• Parsley - finely chopped for garnish.

Directions:

• Start the aromatic base: Over medium high heat, cover the bottom of a pot with 4 tbl olive oil. When hot, add onions, carrots, celery, garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Season with a good pinch of salt.

• To the same pot, add the meat and break apart until finely crumbled and cooked through. You don’t want any big chunks of meat, so break it down well. Season with salt and pepper. This is the time to add rosemary, oregano, thyme and/or red pepper flakes into the meat.

• Add the tomato paste, working it into the meat. Note: I use the paste in a tube so that I don't waste an entire can for 1 Tbl of tomato paste.

• Add 1/2 cup of wine, cooking until the wine is absorbed into the meat base. About 5 minutes.

• Blend tomatoes in the same food processor where you chopped the aromatics. You can also use a hand blender right in the can, or toss into a blender. Add all of the tomato puree to the pot. Add the bay leaf now.
  Note: You could use diced or crushed tomatoes, but I find the quality of the whole tomatoes is much better. I like the puree to be nice and smooth because the meat gives enough body and texture to the sauce. Once it has cooked for about 10 minutes and the sauce starts to darken, test for salt and pepper.

• Let the sauce continue to cook, partially covered on medium to medium low heat. It should be gently simmering. The sauce might get thick, so add a little bit of water if needed so that it's not too thick. It should be the consistency of thick gravy. It needs to simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Test again for salt at the end of the simmering.

• After 25 minutes, incorporate the cream allowing it to cook into the sauce, barely simmering, an additional 10 minutes.

• Bring water to a boil to cook the pasta. see notes on cooking pasta below.

• Just before you are ready to serve add the butter stirring into the sauce. Heat through then turn off the heat. 

  • Optional - I will often add frozen green peas. I'm not sure where I saw or tasted this, but I love them even though they are not traditional. If you want them, now is the time to add them and let them heat through.

• The sauce can sit at a very low simmer covered, while you prepare the pasta. If it gets too thick, you can always add pasta water, a tablespoon at a time.

A note on pasta cooking basics:

• While the sauce is finishing, bring a large pot of water to a boil; add 3 Tbl salt before adding the pasta. Test the pasta 1-2 minutes before the package instructions indicate it should be “al dente”.

• Note: egg noodles usually cook more quickly than Durum wheat noodles or Spaghetti. Usually 5 minutes vs. 9 minutes.

• Critical step - Liquid Gold: drain the pasta, always reserving a cup of the starchy pasta water. Adding some of this water to the sauce to thin it, if it’s too thick.

• Note: I usually pull the pasta out of the water with a pasta spoon or “spider” then add straight to the sauce. This ensures some of the pasta water gets into the sauce.

• Do not rinse cooked pasta with cold water. You want the starch to stay with the pasta. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, be ready to sauce it and plate it or it will get sticky.

Finishing and plating the pasta - do not pour sauce over a plate of pasta:

1. Add the drained pasta back into the bolognese sauce, add a tbl of butter, then start spooning and gently incorporating the sauce into the noodles.

   • If you are only using half the sauce/pasta, remove half of the sauce now, and store it for another meal.

   • Add some of the pasta water to loosen the sauce. It will thicken as it is absorbed into the pasta. Add sauce until there is a good sauce to pasta ratio, reserving some sauce. This final step gives the pasta and sauce time to marry.

   • Top each plate with chopped parsley.

   • For a final Italian flourish, drizzle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the pasta.  

   • Pass the Parmesan, please.

It is important to gently cook the pasta and the sauce together before serving. Do not pour sauce over a plate of pasta. This final critical step, gives the pasta the final layer of flavor and richness. You want to move quickly so the pasta does not get sticky.

Bring the entire pot to the table or serve individual plates, topped with a little Parmesan and perhaps a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

A final delicate drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil, is welcome as the final flourish.

A fresh green salad is all that is needed to go with this robust dish.