Too often, American restaraunts make "Bolognese sauce" by throwing browned ground beef into marinara. A traditional Bolognese sauce consists of meat (most often beef and/or pork), braised in wine and tomatoes. This is not a tomato-based sauce, but a meat sauce with tomatoes. While this may be a fine line, it's a line that makes a huge difference between an out consists of meat braised in wine and tomatoes. It's not a tomato-based sauce, but a meat sauce with tomatoes. This may be a fine line for some, but it's a line that makes a huge difference.
This sauce is an absolute favorite of mine. It's easy to make, cooks for a long time, makes your house smell great, and people love it. Good enough to serve to guests, bolognese is a dish that benefits from being prepared a day ahead of time, as a night's refrigeration helps deepen the complex flavors.
Try making this sauce the night before your next ice fishing outing. After "ripening" for a night in the fridge, you can simply heat it up while cooking pasta, and then enjoy a fantastic meal accompanied by a hearty red wine or an IPA.
Beef Bolognese
3 pound chuck roast
1 large spanish onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced very small
1 large celery stalk, diced very small
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of dried thyme
1 tablespoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 cup of red wine
1 cup of chicken broth
1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound of your favorite pasta
parmesan cheese
Directions:
Allow roast to warm to room temperature, coat both sides with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cover the bottom of a large dutch oven with olive oil. Apply medium high heat until oil shimmers. Brown roast in oil on all sides. Set the meat aside. Add more oil to the pan. Add the onion, celery and carrot to dutch oven and saute until the vegetables soften and the onions become translucent, approximately 10 minutes. Add garlic and allow to cook until fragrant - a minute or so.
Add the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce by half. Depending on the size of the pan, more wine might be necessary. Use your discretion — it's impossible to overdo it.
Add the canned tomatoes, stir, place roast in middle of dutch oven, cover, and place into the oven. Check on the sauce after about 3 hours. The meat should fall apart when pressed with the back of a spoon.
Prepare the pasta per the packaging instructions. Break up the meat and tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the cream and stir into the sauce over medium low heat. If the sauce needs to be loosened, add a spoonful of pasta water to the mixture.
Mix pasta and sauce together off the heat and top with grated parmesan cheese.
Recipe note - if you are making this recipe a day ahead of time, don't add the cream until just befor you serve. Reheating this sauce after adding cream will cause it to break, giving it a curdled appearance. This won't affect the taste, but may put off squeamish diners.
When your hands are warmed enough to pry the cork out of a decent bottle of red wine, or the cap from a good winter brew, pour out a glass, then sit down to an excellent meal.
Tight lines!
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