BOLOGNESE SAUCE

By francesn

to serve
A few knobs of butter
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
Fresh or dry tagliatelle, pappardelle, spaghetti, rigatoni or even farfalle, cooked in salted boiling water according to the
manufacturer’s instructions

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp [30 ml]
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup [60 ml]
• butter
• 1 large yellow onion, finely and evenly diced
• 4 small (or 2 very large) carrots finely diced
• 4 stalks celery heart (or 2 large celery stalks) finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, very finely diced
• 4.5 oz [125 g] diced pancetta (1/4-inch cubes)
• Kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2.2 lb [1 kg]
• lean ground meat (blend of veal, pork and beef
• – or just beef)
• 1 cup [250 ml]
• dry white wine (like a Chardonnay)
• 2 cups [500 ml]
• milk
• 1 28-oz [828 ml] can whole San Marzano tomatoes, diced (both th
• e liquid and the tomatoes)
• 1 cup [250 ml]
• beef stock

Details

Adapted from foodnouveau.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the butter and the oil together in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted and the saucepan is
hot, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and a good pinch of salt (about ½ tsp [2.5 ml]) and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the diced pancetta and cook for a further 10 minutes, until
vegetables are softened and pancetta is golden.
Increase the heat to high and add the meat
a third at a time
, stirring and breaking lumps with a spoon between each addi
-
tion. Adding the meat gradually allows its liquid to evaporate – which is key if you want to brown your meat and not boil it.
After the last addition, when no pink can be spotted in the meat and no lumps remain, set a timer to 15 minutes. You want
your meat to caramelize and even become crispy in spots. More liquids will evaporate and flavors will concentrate. You want
golden bits of meat to stick to the bottom of your pan, which will be deglazed later. Watch over your pan as you don’t want
your meat to burn. When you see some serious caramelization action happening, lower heat to medium to reach the end of
the 15-minute sautéing time (on my stove, that’s after 8-9 minutes).
Over medium heat, pour the white wine into the sauce pan. With a wooden spoon, scrape all the brown bits stuck to the
bottom of the pan. Push the meat all around to make sure you scrape it all off. By the time you’re finished, the wine will be