My Favorite Bolognese
Servings 2 people
Ingredients
- 2 small carrots (peeled and cut into 1-inch long)
- 1½ stalks celery (cut into 1-inch long)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion (finely diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- ¾ pound ground beef 80/20 (80% lean 20% fat)
- ½ cup dry white wine (like Sauvignon Blanc)
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup canned crushed tomatoes
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Parmesan rind (about 2 x 4-inch)
- 6.5 ounces tagliatelle
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a mini food processor, add carrots and celeries. Process until very finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, you can cut them with a knife. You should have about 1 cup of minced vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Adjust the oven rack to one level below the middle.
- In a medium Dutch oven over medium heat, add butter and olive oil. Once butter is melted, add onion. Saute until soften, about 2 minutes. Add carrots and celeries, cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, stirring and breaking apart with a spatula. Add white wine. Scrape off any brown bites at the bottom of the pan if there is any. Reduce for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, milk, crushed tomatoes, and nutmeg, mix well. Add bay leaf and parmesan rind. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid.
- Transfer to oven and cook for 1 hour (up to 1½ hours). About half way, take out of the oven and use a large spoon to remove some of the fat that float to the top of the sauce. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper. Stir and bring back to the oven.
- When bolognese is almost ready, bring a large pot of water (salted) to a boil over high heat. Cook the tagliatelle according to the package instructions until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta. Set aside.
- 5 minutes before pasta is ready, remove the dutch oven from oven and set over the stove. Remove more fat if desired. Remove bay leaf and Parmesan rind as well. Scrape down side of the pot to remove the brown spots (flavors) and stir into sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the pasta, a little bit of pasta water, and ¼ cup grated Parmesan. Using a tong, mix everything. Add more pasta water if needed. Transfer to serving plates and top with more Bolognese sauce. Grate extra Parmesan on top and serve hot.
Notes
- For the carrot and celery, if you don’t have a mini food processor, it will take much longer to mince. But smaller vegetables cook faster during cooking and that gives the sauce a much smoother texture.
- The original recipe uses ground dark turkey. It creates a lighter flavor bolognese, and slightly more chunky. But it's still good.
- Parmesan rind is too hard to eat and usually you discard it. But it’s actually really good in sauce & stew for extra flavors. You can keep the rind in freezer until ready to use. I got my rind from Whole Foods. They sell just the rinds. You can also check other cheese shops to see if they can sell you just the rinds. I used a piece about 2x4 inch. The size doesn’t matter too much. It can be bigger or smaller.
- The pasta I used is Seggiano tagliatelle. I like the texture and flavor. I got it from Whole Foods. You can use your choice of pasta.
- There is plenty of bolognese sauce in this recipe. It is enough for 3 servings of pasta.
- If you feel the sauce is bland, you probably didn't add enough salt and pepper. Taste repeatedly and season if needed.