Sunday, January 18, 2009

Bolognese cooking 101

I've been slow to blog since the New Year, but it will change soon, I promise.

More pictures to come from Parma and Ferrara but in the meantime, for all my ladies east side, west side and UK side who have asked for recipes here we go!

I'm going to start you off right with the authentic way to make a Bolognese sauce, just like nonna makes it:

Bolognese sauce with bucatini


Ingredients:
150 g of onions
70 g of carrots
50 g of celery
50 g of lard (I used olive oil- enough to cover the bottom of the pot and it worked beautifully.)
600 g of beef
1 or 2 glasses of red wine (the more the merrier)
1 bottle of tomato puree or tomato paste
salt as needed
pepper as needed

Mince all the vegetables and add to the lard (or olive oil) into a single mix. Brown the vegetables on a medium heat until they change their color ( a light hazel color) The rule for an authentice "Bolognese" sauce is "it must be prepared to the way it smells." Yep, no timers here- just your nose. The next step is ready when the you smell the carrot, the celery and the onions in one perfume.

Add in the meat to the vegetables and brown on a high heat. Once the meat is browned add in salt and pepper (to taste) and 1-2 glasses of red wine and keep stirring. Blend until you can't smell the wine and meat separately but together (it works) at that point add in one bottle of tomato puree, stir and let simmer for 2 hours- stirring occasionally.

I made this on a Sunday morning for lunch. The house smelled... unbelievable and it made enough to last us a week.

Many many more to come!

2 comments:

Portlandier said...

Yum! It looks so much better than the version I've had here in California.

Anonymous said...

um i'm so going to make this!

xoxo

steph

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