*This recipe is an adaptation from Marcella Hazan’s uber famous - and very authentic - version featured in the NY Times.

Having never made a Bolognese sauce - even during culinary school or my tenure in a professional test kitchen - I knew that I wanted this classic to be the next recipe in which I perfected. Although I’ve tweaked a few of Marcella’s methods and ingredients over the years, one thing remains true: this Bolognese sauce is truly the gift that keeps on giving. From one batch, you can use this Italian gravy in a multitude of ways and a multitude of times (that is, if you’re not feeding a large group): ladled over pasta, used for making lasagna, served over polenta, or even as a fun variation on a bowl of chili! Just freeze what you don’t initially use, reheat as needed, and allow for this culinary gift to ‘keep on giving!’

Helpful items to have on-hand: 

• Deep’ish pot  

• Multi-use grater (for cheese and nutmeg)

*Recipe makes approximately 6 large ‘single ladle’ portions

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

• 4 tablespoons butter (separated into 4 single tablespoons)

• ½ cup finely chopped white onion

• ⅔ cup finely chopped celery

• ⅔ cup finely chopped carrot

•  1 pound ground beef chuck (you can also use turkey)

• Salt

• Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 cup dry white wine (I used Riesling because of its delicate sweetness)

• 1 ½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

• 14.5 oz can beef broth (or homemade)

• 1 ¼ to 1 ½. pounds pasta (pappardelle, tagliatelle, or fettuccine)

• Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table

Method

1. Put the oil and 3 tablespoons of butter in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Add the chopped onion and stir until it has become translucent. Add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.

2. Add ground meat, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until it has lost its raw, pink/red color.

3. Add sour cream and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently for about 40-minutes. Add about 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg, and stir.

4. Add the wine, let it simmer until it doesn’t smell of alcohol, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 4 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of beef broth whenever necessary (I ended up using the entirety of the broth, beginning at about the second cooking hour). At the end, however, you do not want a watery sauce, whatsoever. The result should resemble a thick ragu (see photo, below).

5. Taste and correct for salt.

6. Finish w/ 1 tablespoon of butter. Toss with pasta (cooked according to instructions) and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.