Bolognese Sauce by the Italian Cowboy

By [e-mail]

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon Olive oil
• 4 slices Bacon ; cut into 1/2 inch pieces (optional)
• 1 cup chopped Onion
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 clove Garlic ; minced
• 1/2 pound Fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 pound Lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground veal
• 1 pound ground pork or sausage meat
• 2 ea. 28 ounce Italian plum tomatoes
• 1 28 ounce can of water
• 1/2 teaspoon Basil-dried,or 6 leaves of chopped basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream (optional)
• 1 cup red wine -or- 1/2 cup dry white wine & 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 stick of butter (optional)
• 1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)
• 1 pound Pasta

Preparation

Step 1

In a large skillet, warm oil over medium heat and saute bacon until crisp. Remove bacon. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrots and saute until soft then add mushrooms and saute for a little while. In another skillet, brown all the meat. Drain off excess fat. Add meat and bacon back into pan with veggies. Add tomatoes, water, wine, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. At this point you can add the optional cup of cream, butter and cheese. Stir until incorporated then serve over hot pasta.