Bolognese Sauce
- Yield 8
- Prep 30 minutes
- Total 30 minutes
Bolognese Sauce is a pasta recipe on Avoteb. The yield on the card is 8. Plan on 30 minutes from start to plate. The amounts and the method are both on this page.
Ingredients
Yield: 8 servings
- 4 ounces diced pancetta (or diced bacon)
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, finely diced
- 1 large rib celery, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 anchovy filets, roughly chopped*
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground mild Italian sausage*
- 1 cup dry red or white wine
- 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano whole tomatoes, hand-crushed*
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme and/or rosemary
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 cup whole milk*
- fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Method
Leave the pancetta (or bacon). Tip in the pancetta to a large stockpot and cook over medium-a hot burner, stirring occasionally, until lightly crispy. There should be about 1 to 2 tablespoons of grease that has rendered in the stockpot, but if not, add in a drizzle of olive oil to supplement.
Sauté the veggies. Tip in the onion, carrot and celery to the stockpot and stir to combine. Sauté for about 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are softened. Tip in the garlic, anchovy filets and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Sauté for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
Brown the meat. Tip in the ground beef and Italian sausage and toss to combine with the veggies. Leave until the meat is completely browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks and flipping it only occasionally so that it can get a bit browned and crispy on the bottom.
Deglaze the pan. Tip in the wine and use the wooden spoon to thoroughly scrape up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom or sides of the pan.
Let it bubble gently. Tip in the San Marzano tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf and stir to thoroughly combine. Continue cooking until the sauce just barely reaches a let it bubble gently. Then reduce heat to low, cover the stockpot with a lid, and let it bubble gently anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours. (It is worth at least a 2-hour let it bubble gently for optimum flavor.) Be sure to check on the sauce and give it a stir every 30 minutes or so to be sure that the bottom does not burn.
Salt Lift and discard the thyme/rosemary sprigs and bay leaf. Tip in the milk and stir until combined. Give the sauce a taste and season with however much additional salt and pepper you believe it needs. (the cook typically add in at least a few teaspoons of salt and some generous cracks of black pepper.) If the sauce seems too thick, you can add in a bit of water (starchy pasta* water works best) to thin it out.
Plate Plate warm with pasta, gnocchi, roasted eggplant, or whatever sounds good (see notes below) and finish with lots and lots of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
