I grew up on good old fashioned spaghetti sauce. One weekend when I was in college I went home and my dad served beef bolognese. It was incredible! I found myself craving it and asking for it when I came home to visit.
My dad emailed me the recipe a couple years ago and it’s now one of my favorite “comfort food” Italian dishes to make. While I still love basic spaghetti sauce and keep it in the freezer at all times, I’m glad to have this in the repertoire and make it a few times a year.
Beef Bolognese
(Recipe source my Dad)
Ingredients:
1 -3 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1-2 stalks celery, diceed
1 carrot, shredded
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup red wine
1 cup whole milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14½-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried
About 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish
Directions:
In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, cook ground beef until browned. Drain and set aside.
Wipe out Dutch oven and heat the oil. Add onion, celery and carrot and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften and onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes, then add the beef back to the pot. Add the wine and the remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes. (Note, the longer it cooks, the better it gets. Leftovers are even better).
Serve with cooked tagliatelle or thin spaghetti pasta . Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Yield: 4-6 servings
bakin' and eggs 