Wine and Dine: Bolognese

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I’ve always loved the idea of spending a Sunday afternoon with a bubbling pot of tomatoey ragu sitting on the stove, and last weekend, I finally did it. You can read about my Sunday Supper Bolognese at the Union Bulletin’s Wine and Dine Blog, where I’m now writing a weekly (roughly) column about my cooking adventures.

[Update: I’m re-printing the recipe here because it has since become one of my all-time favorites.]

Sunday Supper Bolognese

  • 3 strips of thick cut bacon
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 leek
  • 2-3 sticks celery
  • 1 large carrot
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound ground beef (or a mix of beef, pork, and veal)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes

Heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Cut the bacon into small pieces and add to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is almost crispy and has released some of its fat. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

Slice the leek in half lengthwise, then into quarter inch slices. Rinse the leek pieces to make sure any remaining sand or dirt is cleaned out. Cut the celery and carrots into a small dice. Return the pot back to the heat, and add another tablespoon or two of butter, depending on how much fat the bacon has released (you should have about 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat in the pot). Add the leek, celery, and carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften. Mince the garlic and stir it into the pot, along with the oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes.

Add the ground beef to the pot, and stir, breaking the beef up with a spoon. Stir and cook the meat and vegetables together until the beef begins to lose its color and become brown all over. Add salt, and return the bacon back to the pot, stirring to combine. Stir in the wine and milk, and allow to cook for about a minute, stirring so everything is well mixed. Then stir in the tomatoes. Combine well, and raise the heat a bit. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower to medium-low and let the sauce simmer.

Cook the sauce for at least an hour. I cooked mine for two hours, and while it was perfectly tasty after the first hour, the second hour gave it enough time to soften and blend, for the flavors to develop and become deeper, and for the whole thing to become way better than ground beef mixed with jarred spaghetti sauce.

2 thoughts on “Wine and Dine: Bolognese”

  1. I LOVE that you are writing a column! Congrats!! You are such a great writer, it’s long overdue. 🙂

  2. Thanks! It’s fun, although it’s interesting to write for a different kind of audience. I think i’m still figuring out how to do that. 🙂

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