Ragù

Since I mentioned Bolognese meat sauce in the previous post, now I'll share how to make it. This is the modified version, so it is not the classical sauce. I find the traditional recipe to be not tomato-y enough, and we also added more variety of meat instead of just beef to broaden the flavor. Be forewarned, it takes about 5 hours to make, but you can have at least 3 wonderful full dinners for two out of it.

Bolognese Ragù (meat sauce)
gives 6 large servings

6 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 lb ground beef (not too lean)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground lamb (if you don't have lamb, just use another 1/2 lb of beef)
1 large onion, finely chopped
4/3 cups of finely chopped carrots
4/3 cups of finely chopped celery
2 cups of milk (at least 2%, if not whole)
2 cups of dry white wine (or 1 cup of red)
2 cans of peeled, unsalted plum tomatoes
1/8 to 1/4t of freshly ground nutmeg.
Some parsley, oregano a bay leaf and a clove of garlic (if you are going totally off the classical recipe!)

Method

1) In a large pot (we use our Le Creuset French oven), melt the butter and olive oil and cook the onions until translucent (about 2-3min). Put in carrots and celery and cook for another 2-3 min.
You add the olive oil in so that the butter will not burn.

2) Add in all the meat in small chunks into the pot and mix with the vegetables. Add in a large pinch of salt to help the meat get rid of its moisture.

3) When the meat is no longer pink, add in the 2 cups of milk and grind in the fresh nutmeg at this point. You can smell that this goes reallllly well with it! Reduce until there is no visible liquid left; this could take up to half an hour.

4) When the milk has been reduced down to nothing, add in the wine. Again, reduce the liquid down to almost nothing. This again, take almost another half an hour.

5) While the reduction is happening, you can prep the tomatoes. Open the cans and try to seed each of the tomatoes. I suggest you seed the tomatoes over a bowl to collect the seeds and the juice, and then you put the seed-free flesh in another bowl. Cut the seed-free tomato flesh into smaller chunks. Strain all remaining juice and seeds through a strainer to keep just the liquid.

6) When the reduction is done, add in all the tomato flesh, and some of the juice to a consistency that is not watery. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add all the relevant spices you want. Now you have to simmer this wonderful sauce for at least 3 hours while stirring occasionally. When the mixture gets dry, add in more tomato juice. I always end up using almost all of it and not have to add any water.

7) At the end of the 3 hours, there should not be any watery liquid left on top. The fat might have separated a bit but that's normal, as long as it is not watery. This sauce is served best on home made tagliatelle which is a ribbon pasta slightly wider than fettucini that you have to cut by hand. It really is quite easy to make home made pasta, if you have a pasta machine, 2 eggs and one cup of flour and about an hour of time. To me it is also tasty on regular spaghetti, but it never seems to go that well with a shape like fusilli. Serve with some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese!

** I have photos, and will post some tomorrow

NOTE:
- a few tips for those who want to make their own pasta.
1) leave your two eggs out to warm a bit before using them.
2) when the book says knead for 8 minutes? It really isn't enough. I kneaded for 16min (but I am slow) and man it was so much tastier. The dough REALLY needs to feel soft like a baby's ass before you run it through the machine.
3) unless you are sure your dough will hold up, do not roll the pasta super thin. It will get brittle too easily.