Remember a few months back when I made fresh pasta? ย Were we friends then?
I made fresh pasta at the tail end of summer this year. ย I wore a snazzy red apron. ย I got my hands dirty. ย I walked around the house showing off my ball of dough to anyone who would pay attention. ย No one really payed attention. ย That’s ok.
I have been feeling nostalgic for my summer times of a few months back. ย Times when I would spend weekends talking about wine and food with these lovely ladies. ย (My friends are gorgeous. ย It’s almost weird.) ย Times when we would drink way too much Rose and just be downright silly. ย ย Those times will come again… in many months. ย For now, I’ll satiate myself with a giant bowl of fresh pasta with this INCREDIBLE Bolognese Recipe. ย You should do this too. ย No joke. ย Pasta is calming and generally makes the world a better place.
For all things pasta, you’ll want to pop on over here and read this. ย For all things Bolognese, you’ll want to jump on over and sauce it up.
This Bolognese recipe is one I adapted from Mario Batali. ย The man knows a hell of a lot about Italian food and Crocs. ย I generally only take his advice on Italian food and not on shoes.
This sauce is so amazing because of its many layers of flavors. ย There’s wine, there’s thyme, there’s a touch of sweetness from carrots, there’s onions and garlic and two different kinds of meat. ย Yes. Yes. Yes. ย If, for some reason, you aren’t so keen on several different types of meat, I would gently suggest you reconsider. ย Combining ground pork and veal (or beef) adds a dimension to your sauce that you can’t get with one meat alone. ย It’s well worth the effort. ย True.
Cream too. ย Please don’t skip the cream. ย That’s downright criminal.
Big Fat Bolognese Sauce
adapted from Mario Batali
makes about 8 cups
2 medium onions, finely chipped
4 celery ribs, finely chipped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground by butcher or thinly sliced and pulsed in a food processor until finely ground
1 pound ground veal (or ground beef will do too)
1 pound ground pork (not lean… sorry)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper ( or to taste)
1 cup heavy cream
Heat oil in a large saucepan. ย Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sautee over moderate heat until softened. ย This should take about 5 minutes.
Add the pancetta, veal and pork and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the meat as it cooks. ย This should take about 6 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, heating it and mixing it in the cooked meat. ย Add the white wine and deglaze the pan. ย Add the water, canned tomato and thyme and gently simmer the sauce, covered, until it thickens and reduces, about an hour to an hour and a half. ย Once thickened add salt and pepper and heavy cream. ย Stir.
Sauce can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the fridge. ย This sauce keeps in the freezer for 1 month.
71 Responses
Great recipe! Thanks!
I love this sauce! I usually add a little nutmeg as well!
WOW! this looks really good!
This is the recipe I’ve been looking for! Now I am going to make some pasta and the sauce. Thanks again for providing such great recipes!
My wife and I absoulutely LOVE this recipe!! Thank you Joy!
Made this yesterday. Great flavor. I will use this recipe from here on out. It was so simple! Thank you!
Sorry to be obtuse, but what do you mean by chipped (the onions and the celery)?
I love your blog, by the by. I want to be more like you. You really seem to enjoy life- and food. Same thing, right?
I think I meant chopped. Oops.
I made this for dinner last night, so delicious! Thanks Joy :) Next time I’ll try to make the pasta….. yes….
I’d never thought to combine veal and pork in the sauce too… I’ll have to give it a go. I’m on the fence about carrot, well, I lean towards not including it but as you say, the different flavour layers are what makes this recipe so good. Maybe it deserves a second chance
hi joy!
you do bring joy into my life. that was yami…
and the cream at the end, GOD bless you :))
love you
Daniel
I made both of these Monday night, and they came out AMAZING! I have been on the hunt for an amazing Bolognese recipe since my trip to Bologna last February and this is IT! So worth it :) Thanks!
I made this a couple weeks ago for the whole family, and let me tell you it was a big hit! The sauce was amazing. Thank you for this site, I am completely obsessed!