Marcella Hazan's Bolognese Sauce
Welcome to today's culinary adventure on our family cooking blog! I'm thrilled to share a special find from the New York Times Cooking section - Marcella Hazan's Bolognese Sauce. This isn't just a sauce; it's a slow-cooked marvel that turns waiting into a rewarding part of the cooking process. The hours of simmering allow the flavours to deepen, creating a sauce that's rich and utterly satisfying.
What makes this Bolognese stand out are two unexpected ingredients: milk and an Italian Pinot Grigio. They're boiled off, yet they leave behind a fascinating layer of flavor that makes this dish uniquely delicious. It's a perfect example of how patience and a couple of surprising elements can elevate a meal from good to unforgettable.
So, let's gather around the kitchen, share laughs, and prepare a sauce that's sure to become a new favorite in our family's recipe collection. Here's to good food and great company!
Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce
Special Note: Unexpected in a bolognese sauce, make certain to have the milk and wine on hand.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp butter plus 1 tbsp for tossing the pasta
½ cup chopped onion
⅔ cup chopped celery
⅔ cup chopped carrot
¾ pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef)
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 cup whole milk
Whole nutmeg (I used a pinch of nutmeg)
1 cup dry white wine
1 ½cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1¼ to 1½ pounds pasta
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
Instructions:
Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating -- about ⅛ teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.
Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add ½ cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Stir to mix the fat into the sauce, taste and correct for salt.
Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
