Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 of a small yellow onion, chopped fine
1/2 of a carrot, chopped fine
1/2 of a celery stalk, chopped fine
3/4 pound of lean ground beef (ideally ground from the meat of the neck)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of dry white wine
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
2 cups of chopped Italian tomatoes (canned is preferred to fresh)
Ideally you have an earthenware pot (pfft! right) but a heavy-bottomed stock pot or cast-iron dutch oven would also work. Place the pan over medium heat and add the butter and oil. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and stir constantly for about 1 minute. The onion should just be slightly translucent. Add the chopped celery and carrot and let it cook for 2 minutes. Add in the ground beef and stir it constantly for several minutes while the beef cooks. Once the meat is just slightly more brown than red, you’re ready to turn the heat up to medium-high and add the wine. Leave it uncovered and simmering vigorously. It should take about 10 minutes for the wine to evaporate. Add the milk and the nutmeg and lower the heat to medium. Stir it constantly until it stops boiling vigorously. Stir it frequently for about 6-8 minutes, or until the milk evaporates. Add the tomatoes and reduce the heat as low as you can get it. You want it to bubble occasionally, but barely simmer. The lower you can get the heat, the longer you can simmer the meat, which will make it more tender. And texture is just as important with this dish as flavor. You’ll want to be able to cook it for about 3-1/2 to 5 hours, or until all of the liquid has evaporated and you’re left with a meaty, gravy-like sauce. Ideally you’ll serve this over homemade fresh tagliatelle; realistically you’ll find that a wider noodle is better suited to this sauce than the more typical spaghetti. Taste and add salt if necessary. I also suggest serving this with a tablespoon or so of freshly grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
According to Marcella, there are three very important things to remember when making this sauce:
*
The meat must be sautéed just until it starts to lose the raw color. Cooking it too long will make the meat rubbery.
*
You must cook off all of the milk before adding the tomatoes which will make the meat sweeter and add a creamier texture.
*
It must be cooked at a very low simmer for a very long time. The minimum is 3-1/2 hours but the ideal is 5 hours. This sauce is essentially a stovetop braise, and braising is the perfect way to make cheap, tough cuts of meat tender.