blondeweasel.com

(3) 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (preferably S&W or Contadina)
(1) 8 oz can tomato puree
1 bunch garlic
2 white onions
1 bundle celery
5 carrots
(2) packages of pre-sliced mushrooms
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef (80% lean is fine)
1 bottle dry red wine, like a cabernet
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
5-6 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 Tbsp salt
40 turns cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp thyme
1 tsp ground sage
½ Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp basil

Begin by making a mirepoix. Finely dice the onions, celery, and carrot. The ratio should be 2:1:1 (some 17th century French golden ratio). Start a large pot on the stove at 60-70 pct. Heat. Cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil – 3-4 Tbsp. You could also use butter here and be a little more traditional. If you use butter, cut back on the salt if it is salted butter. Once the pan is warm, throw in the garlic for about 1 minute to release its flavor. Then add the mirepoix. Let the veggies sweat, but not brown. (note: garlic is not in a traditional mirepoix) Add half of the Thyme, all the oregano, and basil.

At the same time as the mirepoix is going, you should have a med-hot large saucepan 75-85 pct heat, slick with olive oil (1-2 Tbsp), to throw the broken up pork and beef into. Using a spatula, brown the meat and cook it most of the way through. Then add all the mushrooms, and let those soften up for 5-6 minutes. Season this preparation with ½ the thyme, crack the pepper over the top, and add the sage. Add the balsamic vinegar, and 1/3 bottle of wine, in portions, to deglaze the pan. It will soak up into the mushrooms and meat.

Once both the mirepoix is soft and golden, and the meat/mushrooms are soft and browned, toss all the meat into the big pot with the mirepoix. Now add all the cans of tomatoes. Reduce the heat to 30-40 pct. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Season with salt now… it will require a lot because of the volume. Approx 3 Tbsp. add about ½ Tbsp at a time, stir, let simmer for 10 minutes, then taste, season, simmer, taste, etc. eventually you will taste the tomato sugars breaking down and adding a richness to the sauce. Add more wine if the sauce is too sweet, but don’t add wine after the first hour of cooking.

The sauce is ready after about 1 ½ hours of simmering. It can simmer for up to 3 hours, but only if it is tightly covered, and you are stirring every 15 minutes or so. Makes approx 10-12 servings.

Pasta—Rigatoni or Penne, and I like to serve mine al dente. So when the noodle is just still barely chewy when you test it, serve it up, and it will finish cooking in the bowl/on the plate. When I’m preparing dishes for leftovers, I undercook the noodle by about a minute, and don’t worry about serving up a little bit of water in the bowl with the noodles, this will help rehydrate them when microwaved.

Garnish with grated pecorino romano cheese.

One Response to “Rigatoni Bolognese”