Our Best Simple Bolognese Sauce

Our Best Simple Bolognese Sauce

There are so many recipes out there for Bolognese sauce and with such a much loved traditional recipe, there is no wonder that so many variations of it available. Italians can be quite fierce in their opinions about what constitutes a proper Bolognese sauce; is milk added?...oregano? ...basil? ...other herbs? ..tomato sauce or tomato paste? Ask any of those questions and you are going to get answers...and probably lots of them. So, with so many differing opinions, I'm going to ignore most of them and give you our family's most loved Bolognese Sauce recipe.

The Bolognese Sauce that our family really loves concentrates on simplicity, slow cooking, modest seasoning and the approach that, even though it does contain tomatoes, it is a meat sauce and not a tomato sauce. Since I like to simmer my sauce for a long time to concentrate the flavor, I do not use tomato paste but canned San Marzano tomatoes, my favorite, which I puree in the blender. In addition to red wine, I also use some beef stock in order to allow for a longer simmering time and to deepen the rich beefy flavor of the sauce. This particular batch actually simmered very slowly for almost four hours, to be served as one of our most loved Sunday suppers. It is well worth the time. Serve with plenty of very good grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Our family's preference is the best Parmagiano Reggiano cheese we can find, freshly grated over the top. There is no such thing as too much.

This recipe produces a very thick, rich, intensely flavored sauce which we serve over tagliatelle, spaghetti or for my son Noah, almost always penne. Leftover sauce at our house can get used to make the absolute best lasagne or even Bolognese Sloppy Joes with some provolone cheese melted over the meat sauce and served on toasted crusty bread. I recommend you plan for leftovers, especially those sloppy Joes; they are so delicious!

Our Best Bolognese Sauce

Recipe by Barry C. Parsons

Our Best Bolognese Sauce - This recipe produces a very thick, simply seasoned, rich, intensely flavored sauce. Delicious over any pasta, in lasagne or to make Bolognese Sloppy Joes!

Prep time: 1/2 hour

Cook time: 3 to 4 hours

Total time: 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp
• olive oil
• 6 ounces
• finely diced pancetta or bacon
• 3 pounds
• lean ground beef
• 1 tsp
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp
• sea salt
• 1 tsp
• freshly ground nutmeg
• 4 cups
• pureed canned tomatoes
• 2 cups
• dry red wine
• 3 cups
• low sodium beef stock
• 1/2 cup
• milk
• 3
• large bay leaves
• 2
• large carrots, finely diced
• 3
• celery sticks, finely diced
• 2
• large onions, finely diced
• 6 cloves
• garlic, finely minced
• 2 pounds
• fresh or dried pasta of your choice
• 1 cup
• freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Cooking Directions

In a large dutch oven or small stock pot over medium heat, add the olive oil and chopped pancetta or bacon. Cook until the pancetta or bacon is almost crispy.

Add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots and cook until the onions have softened and begin to caramelize to a light brown color, stirring often.

Add the ground beef, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook until the beef is well browned.

Add the pureed tomatoes, wine, beef stock, milk and bay leaves. Stir.

Cover and bring to a slow simmer.

Simmer very gently, stirring occasionally for 3 to 4 hours. If you feel you need to add more beef stock, that's fine but you may want to turn down the heat if the liquid is boiling away too rapidly. A slow simmer is important here.

The liquid should be almost completely gone at the end and the meat sauce will be quite thick.

Serve over or tossed with cooked pasta topped with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.