February 17, 2014

Pappardelle with Bolognese Sauce



On Valentine’s Day, Alan and I decided to stay cozy at home and make some homemade pasta and bolognese sauce.  How romantic-o. Plus, I’d been craving a hearty meat sauce all week.  As the sauce simmered away, we cranked homemade pasta dough through the pasta maker he gave me for Christmas.  The dish turned out really good and we were so stuffed, we could barely move.  

We noticed after the fact that the Williams-Sonoma recipe I chose called for a little too much meat and I was wishing for more tomato and less beef and pork, so I adjusted the amount of meat slightly for the recipe below.  


The good thing about the meat-heavy recipe is that the next day, having overdone it on the bolognese the night before and not looking to pack in any more carbs, I added some cumin, white beans and jalapeño to it and made a great chili!  There was still a bunch of bolognese left even after the chili, so I froze it in individual baggies for later use.  Bolognese for days.

RECIPE (adapted from Williams-Sonoma’s Bolognese Sauce recipe http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/pappardelle-with-bolognese-sauce.html)

Makes 6-10 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
Coarse salt, to taste  
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces pancetta, into a small dice
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup milk
2 (28 oz.) cans plain pureed tomato
2 bay leaves
1 Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
1 pound pappardelle, cooked until al dente and drained
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving


1.  In a very large sauté pan (or you can use a large pot, but you have to pour off any liquid that accumulates while cooking the meat so that it browns instead of boils) over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the ground beef and pork, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. 

2.  Add the pancetta to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

  

3.  Reduce the heat to medium and warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. 

4.  Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the ground meats, pancetta, milk, tomatoes, bay leaves and cheese rind. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.

  

5.  Cover partially, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, anywhere between 1 or 2 hours (we cooked ours for 1 hour). 

6.  Remove and discard the bay leaves and cheese rind.

 Toss the pasta with about 3 cups of the sauce (reserve the remaining sauce for another use, like chili). Serve immediately with more Parmagiano.



1 comment:

  1. why you would go to a predominantly white bread- site like W&S for a recipe like this, have no idea,,Google Nonna recipes,, there are a plethora: and each one holds its weight in Sunday morning authenticity,..

    ReplyDelete