Meat Sauce Bolognese

Name: Meat Sauce Bolognese
Yield: makes 6 cups, enough to dress about 1 1/2 pounds dried pasta
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, minced (about 1 cup); 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely shredded (about 1/2 cup); 1/2 cup minced celery, with leaves; Salt; 1 pound ground beef; 1 pound ground pork; 1/2 cup dry red wine; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 3 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid, crushed; 3 bay leaves; Freshly ground black pepper; 4 cups hot water, or as needed

December 9, 2011

Bolognese is a very versatile sauce. Not only can it dress all shapes and sizes of pasta, like fresh tagliolini (page 180) or dried spaghetti or rigatoni, you can also use it instead of the Italian-American Meat Sauce (page 144) in the lasagna on page 156, or in a meaty version of the pasticciata on page 158. This recipe makes enough sauce to dress 1 1/2 pounds of dried pasta or one and a half recipes of tagliolini—good for feeding a hungry crowd. It also freezes well, if you’d like to enjoy it in smaller quantities. Warm the sauce while the pasta is cooking and toss it with the cooked pasta, adding a little of the pasta-cooking water if necessary to make a creamy sauce. Toss in some grated Parmigiano-Reggiano just before you serve it.

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