Ready for one of my all-time favorites - Authentic Italian Bolognese Sauce. You know, we should count how many times I say "it's my favorite" in a year. I suppose this means you can just trust that I only share my favorites with you.
What you have here is a Sunday-kinda-recipe. One that you spend less than an hour making and then it simmers all day on the stove filling the house with wafting smells that someday family and friends will associate with being in your home.
This is also one of those dishes that I like to double and freeze because the bolognese is so easy to reheat in the microwave and toss over pasta for a quick weeknight meal.
The base of this recipe is a sofrito - finely diced carrots, onions, and celery.
You add pancetta to this - my favorite is this package from Trader Joes.
Add in the ground beef and ground pork in small amounts and cook until no pink remains for each batch. This ensures that the meat doesn’t boil in it’s own liquids.
The key to this recipe is to allow it to cook slowly for hours partially covered. It will turn into a thick sauce that will cling to noodles.
Top with a hearty helping of parmesan and some red pepper flakes (if you need some heat).
Serve it over pappardelle, farfalle, linquine, or gnocchi.
I hope you love this dish! It’s:
A “Sunday-kinda-dish”
Comforting
Hearty
Slow Simmered
Looking for other “Sunday Sauce” recipes? Check out — Spaghetti and Red Sauce
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #theeternalhostess on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup butter (unsalted)
- 1 large onion (finely diced)
- 3 large carrots (finely diced)
- 4 stalks celery (finely diced)
- 6 cloves garlic (finely diced)
- 8 oz pancetta (diced)
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/5 pounds ground beef (preferable 90% meat/ 10% fat)
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups milk
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 14 oz canned tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef stock (low sodium)
To Serve
- butter
- Parmesan (freshly grated)
- pasta (cooked to directions - pappardelle, spagetti, farfalle or gnocchi are best)
Instructions
- Heat the large heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil and heat until butter is melted. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic and a hearty pinch of salt. Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the diced pancetta and cook for 10 minutes, until pancetta is golden.
- Increase the heat to high. Add half of the ground beef to the pan. Break apart the meat with your spatula/spoon mixing it in with the vegetable mixture. Cook until no pink remains in the meat. Add in other half of the ground beef, breaking apart and mixing into the cooked meat/vegetable mixture and cook until no pink remains. Repeat a final time with the ground pork.
- Once all meat is cooked through, set a time for 20 minutes. Stir mixture every 3-4 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn. Reduce heat to medium low- 8-10 minutes into this process. You want the meat to caramelize and develop some crispy bits.
- Increase heat to medium and add white wine to the pan. Using a hearty spatula/spoon, immediately start scraping all the crispy brown bits off the bottom of the pot. The wine should be nearly evaporated when you finish this process.
- Add diced tomatoes (and their liquid), tomato sauce milk, beef stock, another hearty pinch of salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and bring pot to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to low and allow the sauce to simmer for 4 hours. Place lid on the pot to half-cover the pot.
- Stir the sauce every hour or so. The sauce should be the consistency of porridge when it is done cooking. If it starts sticking/burning be sure the pot is on the lowest heat and add a bit more stock to thin it out.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
Notes
Top with a 1/2 tbsp knob of butter and a generous helping of freshly grated parmesan. -- PREP AHEAD --
This is a PERFECT recipe to make ahead. Just reheat the sauce before guests arrive over low heat. Cook pasta/gnocchi. Top with sauce, butter, and parmesan. -- FREEZE --
This freezes beautifully. I suggest freezing it in individual servings (Hello, FoodSaver), but you do what works best for you and yours.
