Beef Bolognese

Name: Beef Bolognese
Yield: makes about 10 cups; 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions; 8 cloves garlic, minced; 1/2 cup chopped celery; 1/2 cup chopped carrots; 1/2 cup olive oil; Kosher salt and ground black pepper; 2 pounds ground beef or turkey; 1 1/2 cups Beef Broth (page 114) or store-bought low-sodium beef broth, plus more if needed; 1/2 cup dry red wine; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 4 cups tomato sauce, plus more if needed; 1/4 cup ketchup; 2 fresh or dried bay leaves; 2 sprigs of fresh thyme; 3 tablespoons dried oregano

December 9, 2011

I ran track in high school, and one day my coach told me to eat more pasta to increase my energy. So I went straight home and told my mom that I needed her to pick up a bunch of spaghetti sauce at the store. My mother pointed out that the jars were too expensive—about $2 a jar back then, generally a lot more nowadays—for the amount I was likely to eat (I could eat pasta morning, noon, and night). She wisely suggested I pick up a case of tomato sauce (6 cans for $1!) and get to work. Believe me, a lot of trial and error happened between my first pot and the recipe you see here. It took years to get the right mix of spices. But to this day, I would always rather start a pot with a can of tomato sauce than open any jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce. This bolognese stores beautifully for several months in the freezer, so sometimes I just mix up a batch to store and pull out in a pinch!

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