Bolognese, Lidia Style

Bolognese.  The very name conjures up all sorts of happy thoughts for me.  For years now I've been making this version, and have been totally happy with it.  It's stupid delicious, after all.  

However, I received a copy of Lidia Bastianich's Lidia Cooks From The Heart of Italy for my birthday and have been dying to cook my way through it ever since.  This bolognese is one of the basic recipes at the back of the book and it looked too good to not try.

There's no denying that the creation of a good, full-bodied bolognese takes time.  Because it does.  It's a real labor of love.  But this recipe makes more than enough for one or even two meals, so you can cook your little heart out one day and have yummy bolognese for another night.  It's perfect for freezer cooking!

The flavors in this sauce are so complex and well-developed.   It's rich and satisfying, and worth every minute of prep and cooking time.

2 lbs ground beef

2 lbs ground pork

2 cups dry white wine

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

6 oz bacon or pancetta

5 garlic cloves

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 large carrot, shredded

2 large celery stalks, finely chopped

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cups red wine

2 tbs tomato paste

2 cups crushed tomatoes

8-10 cups hot vegetable stock or water

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, pour 2 cups white wine over ground meats and, using your fingers (or a potato masher, as I did), mix so meat is moistened with wine. Set aside.

In food processor, process bacon or pancetta and garlic into a smooth paste.  Heat olive oil over medium heat and add this paste.  Break apart and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until fat is rendered and paste begins to brown slightly.  Add onions and sweat for several minutes.  Add carrots and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until vegetables soften and turn a golden color.  

Turn heat up to medium high.  Push vegetables to one side of pot (or pour into a separate bowl, which I did) and add meat to pot, then sprinkle with salt.  Allow meat to brown on bottom, then mix in vegetables.  Liquids will totally cover the meat/vegetables, so allow to cook down for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning and lowering heat if necessary.

Pour in red wine and cook until wine evaporates.  Stir in tomato paste and allow to brown for a few minutes.  Pour in crushed tomatoes, then swish can out with one cup of vegetable stock and pour that in as well.  Simmer until liquid no longer covers meat.  At this point, add vegetable stock in batches - pour in enough to cover meat, around two cups at a time, and simmer until meat is no longer covered.  This entire process will probably take between one and two hours.

So...like I said...a labor of love.  But good golly, is it worth it.  You'll want to dive right in a bathe in this sauce, I promise you.  We decided out of the two bolognese sauces I've made (three, actually, if you count Alton Brown's which I only made one time), Lidia's bolognese is superior.  This is the sauce I'll be making from here on out.  And as frequently as possible.


And for the record...the fettucine in the picture is homemade.  But that's another post...

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