This week's assignment for Cooking Italy was Bolognese Meat Sauce, found on pages 203-205 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. We could also make the Tagliatelle pasta from scratch if we wished on page 136.
I did not have time/effort/inclination to get the pasta made as I do not have a pasta maker and I am a little unsure about my efforts of being able to make it, roll it, cut it, semi-dry it, etc., so we opted for fresh fettuccine that we purchased at the market since they did not have tagliatelle when we shopped. Someday I will try to make it from scratch, this just wasn't that day.
The sauce took about five hours to make. Of course, you weren't standing over it that long, but you would need to be able to babysit the sauce rather than just leave it.
First you saute onion, celery, carrot in a little olive oil and butter, adding in ground chuck and browning that, followed by the milk, simmering until that disappears into the meat mixture, then wine, simmering that until it disappears into the meat mixture, then the tomatoes and juice, simmering that for three hours.
OMW is this good, really really good. All those layers of flavor combine for something very special. It is served over fresh pasta with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Was it worth the five hours? YES! I will definitely make this again as it was a big hit with everyone around here.
If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.
Next week's recipes is Pork Loin Braised in Milk, Bolognese Style, found on page 417.