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BOLOGNESE MEAT SAUCE
2 heaping cups, for about 6 servings and 1 1/2 pounds pasta
Ragł, the Bolognese call their celebrated meat sauce, is characterized
by mellow, gentle, comfortable flavor that any cook can achieve by being
careful about a few basic points:
- The meat should not be from too lean a cut; the more marbled it is, the sweeter the ragł it will be. The most desiderable cut of beef is the neck portion of the chuck.
- Add salt immediately when sautéing the meat to extract its juices for the subsequent benefit of the sauce.
- Cook the meat in milk before adding wine and tomatoes to protect it from the acidic bite of the latter.
- Do not use a demiglace or other concentrates that tip the balance of flavors toward harshness.
- Use a pot that retains heat. Earthenware is preferred in Bologna and by most cooks in Emilia-Romagna, but enameled cast-iron pans or a pot whose heavy bottom is composed of layers of steel alloys are fully satisfactory.
- Cook, uncovered, at the merest simmer for a long, long time; no less than 3 hours is necessary, more is better
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoon butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped carrot
3/4 pound ground beef chuck (see note above)
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1 cup whole milk
Whole nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 1/ 4 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
Recommended pasta: There is no more perfect union in all gastronomy than
the marriage of bolognese ragł with homemade Bolognese tagliatelle.
Equally classic is Baked Lasagne with Meat Sauce, Bolognese Style. Ragł
is delicious with tortellini and irreproachable with such boxed, dry pasta
as rigatoni, conchiglie, or fusilli. Curiously, considering the popularity
of the dish in the United Kingdom and countries of the Commonwealth, meat
sauce in Bologna is never served over spaghetti.
1. Put the oil, butter, and chopped onion in the pot, and turn the heat
on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then
add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the
vegetables to coat them well.
2. Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper.
Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well, and cook until the beef has lost
its raw, red color.
3. Add the milk and let it simmer gently stirring frequently, until it has
bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating-about 1/8 teaspoon - of nutmeg,
and stir.
4. Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes
and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin
to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of
simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface.
Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While
the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and
the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, continue the
cooking, adding 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however,
no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste
and correct for salt.
5. Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and
serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
Ahead-of-time note : If you watch the sauce for a 3 to 4 hour stretch, you
can turn off the heat whenever you need to leave, and resume cooking later
on, as long as you complete the sauce within the same day. Once done, you
can refrigerate the sauce in a tightly sealed container for 3 days, or you
can freeze it. Before tossing with pasta, reheat it, letting it simmer for
15 minutes and stirring it once or twice.
Variation of Ragł with Pork
Pork is an important part of Bologna's culture, its economy, and the cuisine,
and many cooks add some pork to make their ragł tastier. Use 1 part
ground pork, preferably from the neck or Boston butt, to 2 parts beef, and
make the meat sauce exactly as described in the basic recipe above.
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