Rag alla Bolognese (Classic Bolognese Meat Sauce)

By KatKD

Make 1/2 the sauce, but only 1 can of diced toms. I used meatballs (and a little bit of beef broth) and spaghetti squash. And, of course, cream instead of milk...

Ingredients

• 2 small yellow onions, finely chopped
• 4 small or 2 large carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 4 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 pounds lean ground beef (90% or leaner)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups dry white wine
• 2 cups low-fat milk (or less cream)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 28-ounce cans plus one 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

Details

Servings 20
Cooking time 345mins
Adapted from eatingwell.com

Preparation

Step 1

Put onions, carrots, celery, butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven and place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned, 8 to 15 minutes.

Add ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and continue stirring until the meat has lost its red color, about 4 minutes.

Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until it has almost completely evaporated, 18 to 25 minutes. Add milk and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk has mostly evaporated, 12 to 18 minutes.

Coarsely chop tomatoes and add them and their juice to the pot. Once the tomatoes have started bubbling, reduce the heat to low so that the sauce is barely simmering. Cook uncovered for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. If all the liquid evaporates before the cooking time is up, add water ½ cup at a time as needed. After 4 hours, make sure all the liquid has evaporated before you remove the sauce from the heat. Blot or skim any fat from the surface before serving.