February 7, 2016

Bolognese Sauce Antica A True Taste of Italy

Name: Bolognese Sauce Antica A True Taste of Italy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 300 min
Yield: 6 people
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 6 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons for tossing the pasta; 1 cup chopped onion; 1 1/3 cups chopped celery; 1 1/3 cups chopped carrot; 1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck (you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef); Kosher of Sea Salt; Black pepper (ground fresh from the mill); 2 cups whole milk; Whole nutmeg; 2 cups dry white wine; 3 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes (cut up with their juice); 2 pounds pasta; Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table

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Bolognese Sauce Antica is purely and simply a meat sauce that brings an authentic taste of Italy to the table. This meat sauce is made patiently and lovingly by many Italian nonnas and mammas who want to take the time to give their families the most delicious, creamiest sauce ever! The antica part of the title means that the sauce includes milk which mellows the flavor of the meat while it softens the texture.

In our home, my mamma made sugo di carne {meat sauce}. So every time I heard the term “ragù,” I thought it was just a brand of spaghetti sauce. It wasn’t until I was much older that I discovered it’s also a term for meat sauce.

Preparing Soffritto for the Bolognese sauce

Whenever we saw Mamma mincing and dicing her celery, carrots, and onions for a soffritto and then spotted a pile of minced beef on the cutting board, we knew she was making her sugo di carne. And oh boy, were we in for a real treat! It would take her about five hours to slowly cook the meat sauce, but the result was worth it.

This meal is reserved for a special Sunday dinner or a holiday. When I looked into Italian cuisine and experimented with recipes, I realized that mamma’s recipe was Bolognese Sauce almost exactly like Marcella Hazan. I wish now that I’d asked my mamma and papà more questions . . . taken the time to write down mamma’s recipes. I truly regret that so many questions will forever be left unanswered!

A celebration sauce

I remember once, after my Honey, and I married, our family traveled to visit my mamma and papà. And there, waiting for us on the stove, was a pan of sugo di carne. I couldn’t wait for dinner! My Honey and kids never tasted mamma’s Bolognese sauce — I knew they were in for a real taste experience. And I was right! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal with lots of compliments to the cuoca {cook}.

Later on in the evening, I was explaining to my Honey how mamma made her sugo and what type of meat she used. His reaction wasn’t quite what I expected.

“She used what???”

“She used beef tenderloin.”

“You’re kidding! She used beef tenderloin for a sauce? Why not chuck, or hamburger?”

“Because she wanted to make it special. Did I tell you about Remigio and his wife — the friends from Isola D’Istria? Well, he works as a butcher in Chicago. He and his wife came down recently for a visit and he brought them some Italian meats — including a beef tenderloin.”

“But a beef tenderloin?!” He just couldn’t get beyond that.

“You know mamma and papà always want to share. Well, they figured this would be the best way for all of us to enjoy the beef tenderloin. And . . . they get more than one meal out of it.”

Cooking is sharing love

I don’t think I did a good job of convincing him. Now and then I’d see him shake his head and mutter beef tenderloin. My parents survived WW II and all of the poverty and destruction that it brought Italy. They didn’t take anything for granted. The meat was a luxury — something they appreciated. Whenever we gave them anything, you can bet we’d get something back tenfold. That’s just the way they were.

Our Bolognese Sauce doubled

Now, for our Bolognese Sauce, we used beef chuck instead, and we doubled the original recipe. Whether you make one batch or two, the time involved is practically the same –four to five hours, depending on how long you want to let it simmer. It turned out just like we remembered — a rich, creamy, meaty sauce.

Traditionally the sauce is served over fresh tagliatelle, an egg pasta. Instead, we put it over our homemade rigatoni that we made on our pasta machine, a Christmas gift from our children. We will be posting that recipe and how we did it shortly. Don’t let the amount of time it takes to make the sugo scare you off. Most of the time you spend letting the Bolognese Sauce slowly simmer — you and your loved ones will be very pleased with your efforts.

And to my mamma and papà, I know you’re together today celebrating, Happy 75th Anniversary, siete sempre nel mio cuore e nei miei pensieri.

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Tutti a tavola è pronto!

Un caro saluto e alla prossima.