Bolognese Sauce

Instruction​

• ​Finely dice a mirepoix:

  • Celery​

  • yellow onions

  • carrots

• In a deep pan, saute the mirepoix in olive oil, salting lightly to help them sweat

• Once cooked down a bit, add 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground pork, using a spoon to break it up and brown

• Once all of the pink of the meat is gone, season with:

  • Salt and pepper

  • Nutmeg

• Add 1 1/2 cups of milk, bring to a boil, then let it simmer gently for 20 minutes

• Add:

  • 28 or so oz of crushed canned tomatoes (this sauce does not work well with fresh tomatoes because they are not sweet or soft enough)

  • 1 glass full of red wine

  • 1 bay leaf​

  • Salt if the tomatoes are not salted

• Simmer on low without a lid until the sauce is reduced and thickened, which can be from 20 minutes to 3 hours

• Remove the bay leaf

• Tear up fresh basil and mix it into the pasta before serving

• If serving with pasta (best with pappardelle), top with:

  • Fresh basil leaves (the small ones)

  • Shaved Parmesan

  • A drizzle of quality olive oil

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A Bolognese should be thicker than a standard meat sauce, so do not serve until the liquid is reduced and concentrated.

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