I first fell in love with Bolognese at Ca'Dario in Santa Barbara. My friend ordered a bowl and I found myself wanting more and more bites of the delicious meaty ragu. The other week a friend and I ordered it while out at an Italian restaurant near us but something was missing. I wanted more from it so of course I decided to make some at home.
What I love about this recipe is that the ingredients are all fairly basic. I had some ground beef on hand and because I'm cheap (or frugal) right now, I opted to not get the ground veal. You could go right ahead and get 6 oz. of ground veal and 6 oz. of ground beef, but instead I did 1 lb. of ground beef.
What really surprised me about this recipe is how sweet it was. The onions and carrots cooking down for awhile gave off lots of natural sweetness that made the husband wonder if I'd added nutmeg.
Although this recipe takes some time, I'd highly recommend it for a good go-to bolognese sauce.
{Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, serves 4-6}
{Ingredients You'll Need}
- 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 4 oz. pancetta, chopped
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 3 cups beef stock, divided
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 lb pasta- spaghetti or your choice
- grated parmesan for serving
1. Heat oil in a large pot then add onions, celery, and carrots. Saute for 8-10 minutes then add in the beef and pancetta and saute until browned, about 15 minutes.
2. Add wine and boil for 1 minute, scraping down any brown bits. Add 2 1/2 cups of stock and tomato paste and and stir to blend then allow to simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In another saucepan bring the milk to a simmer then add it to the beef mixture. Stir together then loosely cover the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 45 with the heat on low but simmering. Add more stock if you need to. (I didn't) These steps can be made 2 days in advance and just reheated before serving.
4. Boil water and toss in your pasta of choice. Serve the warm ragu over pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan.
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