Many bolognese sauces can take anywhere from 2-4 hours to make. Ours is very good at about an hour tops. Fresh ingredients and the right tomatoes are a must.
We serve ours with various long pastas.
What you need
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 pound ground chuck beef
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/2 cup of white wine
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 8 oz. of sweet Italian sausage (about 2 links, removed casings and crumbled)
- One 28-ounce can San Marzano crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
- 8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Put the oil, butter and chopped vegetables in a large pot on medium and cook until the onions have become translucent. Add the garlic and simmer for about 30 seconds
- Add ground beef and sweet sausage (crumbled), salt and pepper. Stew until the meat is brown with no color.
- Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, for about 2-3 minutes, until it clarifies.
- Add the nutmeg, parley and basil, and stir in the sauce about 30 seconds.
- 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 a gentle simmer.
- Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour or more to your preference, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out, add water as necessary. You want to extend the cook until the fat has rendered from the ground meats
- Cook until the water has diminished and the fat separated from the sauce. Try and remove as much of the fat as possible.
- Taste and correct for salt.