It's rainy and cold here in the Big D, which means it's perfect weather to stay inside and slow cook a hearty pasta sauce. I love any excuse to eat pasta.
Bolognese has been on my "To Dos" for a while and, for a long time, I thought it was some fancy Italian specialty full of mysterious and exotic ingredients. Then I learned that it's really just a humble meat sauce and, as it turns out, something that made many appearances at my family's table when I was a kid. The version my mom made growing up was a simple sauce with ground beef. The "Anderson Family Spaghetti Night" was a big deal so imagine if we had dressed it up and called it "The Anderson Family Bolognese Night"? We would have been the fanciest family in the neighborhood.
I recommend making this on a lazy Sunday when there's nothing to do except watch reruns of "Top Chef". Commercial breaks are the perfect opportunity to give the sauce a stir as it simmers on the stove.
Bolognese Sauce
Adapted from Gourmet October 2002
Serves 8
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pound ground veal
6 ounce can tomato paste
1 cup whole milk
1 cup white wine
1 cup water
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
salt
pepper
Cook the sausage and veal in a large pot over medium high heat until cooked through and browned. Remove from the heat and drain most of the fat from the pan. Lower the heat to medium, add in the olive oil and cook the onion, carrot, leek and garlic until the vegetables have softened. Return the meat to the pot and cook for a few minutes more.
Add the milk, wine and tomato paste to the pot and stir until combined. Add in the water and stir again. Reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Allow the sauce to simmer for around 3 hours. In the last 30 minutes add in the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Serve with pasta and garnish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
