Bolognese Sauce, my way.

Turns out, there is no bologna in bolognese sauce. Who knew?

I love papardelle with bolognese sauce and order it in restaurants every chance I get. But, because we go to good restaurants about three times a year, tops, I finally decided I had to figure out how to make it at home.

Now, let me be honest here. What I made, while delicious, was not a “traditional” bolognese. I admit it here and now, so please don’t sick your Italian grandma on me for defaming the homeland. I made spaghetti a la bolognese, because that is what I had the stuff for, and that is what sounded good to me at the moment. Sue me. Also, I didn’t have time to make fresh pasta, which is the hallmark of a good bolognese dish. I do recommend finding said time, but you know, we do with what we have.

Authentic bolognese sauce has little or no tomato in it. What I made has tomatoes, and is a sort of American version. But, hey, I like tomatoes. And in the absence of fresh pasta, I wanted a sauce more robust than traditional bolognese, which is somewhat mild. It’s a perfect compliment for fresh pasta, because the pasta is what you really want to highlight, but I was using dried spaghetti and there’s nothing too spectacular about that.

To start, I heated 1/3 cup of olive oil in a stock pot, and then shredded two large carrots in the food processor. You could use a grater, which might be better because the pieces would be smaller, but I am too lazy and old for all that hand-grating.

I also chopped three stalks of celery into very small pieces, and half a large red onion. All of that went into the hot oil and cooked over medium high heat for about five minutes.

Then I scooted the vegetables to the outer edge of the pot and added 2 pounds. of ground beef to the well in the center. I used a rigid spatula to start breaking up the beef – you want your ground beef pieces to be very tiny, almost granular. As it browned on one side, I began to turn it and allowed it to brown on the other, constantly breaking it up into smaller pieces. You can also use sausage for this, and nothing is ever made worse with sausage.

Once it was all brown, I created yet another well and added one small can of tomato paste to the center. I let that heat for a minute or two and then combined it with the rest of the sauce.

Then I added four cloves of garlic, diced, and two heaping teaspoons of kosher salt. Also, a heaping teaspoon of both basil and oregano, and a dash of fennel (which is also not traditional, but I just like it).

Into the pot went a cup of red wine, and I let that simmer for a couple of minutes, and then I added a can of petite diced tomatoes. (These could be left out if you wanted to be more authentic.) I let that simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Longer would be good but we were hungry.

Lastly, about five minutes before serving, I turned up the heat a little and added a cup of milk. I hear there is some debate over whether the milk should really be included, and so I tasted my sauce before I added it and again after, and I cannot suggest strongly enough that you do, indeed, add the milk. It didn’t really taste to me like bolognese until I added it. A chef-friend of mine suggested that the addition of the milk causes a mild caramelization and adds a bit of sweetness to the dish. I don’t know about all that — it’s beyond my culinary prowess, but I have to say, the dish was decidedly better with the dairy. So maybe he’s on to something.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/nov/1/223974/

Megan’s Non-Traditional Bolognese Sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2 large red onion (or 1 small)
2 lbs. ground beef (or mix of beef and pork)
1 can tomato paste
2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cloves garlic
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon fennel
1 cup red wine
1 cup milk

Like I said, I just served it over a bed of spaghetti noodles because I happened to have some cooked and ready in the fridge, and that is how I roll. But a wider noodle that can really hold the sauce is preferable. Regardless, we enjoyed it very much and it was a nice departure from our usual Sunday gravy. Plus, it was full of carrots and celery, so I felt that it was actually health food.