There's tomato sauce. There's meat sauce. And then there's Bolognese. A sauce so special that an official delegation from Bologna issued a copyrighted recipe to the Italian Academy of Cuisine in 1982. A sauce so fabled it makes appearances in literature back to the 15th century.
Problem is, there's little agreement about exactly what goes into the sauce. As per meats, some say beef and veal, prosciutto or pancetta. Others insist on chopped pork and liver. Most people agree that there's just a teeny bit of tomato and a healthy splash of milk or cream. For some, porcini mushrooms are essential; some insist lemon zest and white wine lift it from mere meat sauce. Traditionally, Bolognese sauce is served atop buttered tagliatelle or pappardelle, sometimes tucked into lasagna.
The best one I ever had wasn't in Bologna. It was in Berkeley, Calif., at a small restaurant called Venezia. I've been chasing that sauce ever since, tinkering and tasting, but never hitting it just right. A friend recently handed me this recipe, a Mario Batali beauty. Easy to make and packed with flavor, it has ended my quest.
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Ragu Bolognese
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 carrot, finely diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 pound veal, ground
1 pound pork, ground
1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground
1/2 tube tomato paste
1 cup milk
1 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating
In a 6- to 8-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the veal, pork and pancetta and stir into the vegetables. Add the meat over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned.
Add the tomato paste, milk and wine and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and remove from the heat.
When ready to use, cooked pasta should be added to a saucepan with the appropriate amount of hot Bolognese and tossed so the pasta is evenly coated. Serve topped with grated cheese.
Serves 4 to 6.
Source: Mario Batali from the Food Network's Molto Mario show on basic pasta sauces
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