Classic Italian Bolognese Sauce Recipe courtesy of Michele Urvater
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup minced pancetta
1 cup minced celery
2/3 cup minced carrot
1/2 cup minced onion
1 lb ground beef chuck
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dry white
1 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes, chopped with liquid
1 lb pasta
freshly grated parmesan cheese-optional garnish
In a 3 quart saucepan heat oil and butter. Add pancetta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until most of the fat has be rendered. Then add carrots, celery, and onions and saute for 3 minutes. Now add the beef, salt and pepper to taste and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Add the milk and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the milk is completely evaporated. Add wine and simmer until evaporated.
Finally, add the tomatoes and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours partially covered. It's important to reduce as slowly as possible. If sauce becomes dry, add 1/2 cup water whenever necessary. When almost ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is tender but still firm to the bite, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, pat dry and return to the pot. Add your sauce to the past and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve immediately. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bolognese Sauce Recipe courtesy of John Spencer
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
4 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled Italian tomatoes, undrained
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, leaves chopped
1 package mushrooms, chopped
4 large fresh oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh leaves of basil, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1-cup chianti or good Italian red wine
2 (16-ounce) cans tomato sauce
Salt
Pepper
1/2 pound lean premium ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
Olive oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 hot sausage link (optional)
1 mild sausage (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
3 pounds pasta of your choice, cooked al dente
In a large cast iron skillet, place the olive oil and cloves of garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat until garlic gets light tan but not brown. Add the tomatoes into the oil and garlic and scald tomatoes for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and breaking up with wooden spoon. Transfer tomato mixture to a large saucepan and keep on low heat. Clean out cast iron skillet for upcoming use.
Mix chopped vegetables and herbs together in a big bowl. Take 1/3 of mixture and set aside. Put the remaining 2/3 into saucepan with tomato mixture. Add 1 cup of good Italian red wine, such as Chianti (do not use cooking wine) to tomato mixture. Add 2 (16-ounce) cans of tomato sauce to tomato mixture. Add 1 teaspoon salt to taste, and freshly ground pepper (as such as you like). Let the tomato sauce cook uncovered simmering for 1hour.
Put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in bottom of cast iron skillet. Add ground beef, ground pork, and remaining 1/3 vegetable mixture. Cook until meat is medium well and then add mixture to tomato sauce. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to pot. Simmer tomato sauce partially covered for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
When tomato sauce is about 15 minutes away from being done, take the 2 sausage links, make a slit down the middle, but do not cut in half. Put the water on to a boil for pasta. Cook Pasta. Place the sausage links in the cast-iron skillet and cook until browned all the way through. Slice sausage into chunks. Either add sausage to tomato sauce or use as suggested below.
Place pasta in large serving bowl, add butter, mix, add enough sauce to coat, and as much fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as you like. Serve pasta from the big bowl into individual servings with a few sausage chunks and more if desired. Bon Appetit!
