A "Mangia Cake's" Take on Bolognese Sauce!

Bolognese a la coopspeakeats!

The diva'fied version just for your pleasure.

Ok, peeps...you asked for it, you got it! Unlike most pasta sauces this manna in a pot has no oregano, no basil or no garlic which almost seems unheard of for Italian pasta sauce but trust me my little food gobblers, this sauce doesn't need it. This is a traditional Romagna styled Bolognese. This basic meat sauce is so damn good that you'll just want to lick the plate. Oh by the way, it freezes wonderfully and makes a handy quickie supper.

Let's get Started!

You'll need:

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
2-3 carrots, finely diced
2-3 stalks of celery finely diced
1 large onion finely diced
2-3 tbsp. of Olive Oil
2 tbsp. of butter
1 cup of milk
1 cup of white wine
salt & pepper
grated nutmeg to taste
2 jars of Italian strained tomatoes (those tall skinny jars) make sure
they have no basil in them....you want plain strained tomatoes

Now get your arse to the stove!

Get out your biggest pot.

Toss in the Olive oil & the butter and heat 'er up.
Toss in the onions, carrots & celery, cook until tender, constantly stirring.

Add beef & pork in. Cook until meat is completely cooked. Season with some
salt & pepper.

Add milk. Stir well. Grate in nutmeg. Nutmeg in Bolognese is a very northern
Italian thing. Trust me, it'll make this sauce pure magic. I'm liberal with
the addition but then again, I have a love affair with nutmeg. Cook meat until the milk has evaporated in to the meat.

Add wine. Stirring occasionally. Cook until the wine is evaporated in to the meat.

Add tomato sauce. Stir in well. Let sauce simmer a couple of hours. Stirring occasionally.

Voila! This is pure, simple heaven in a pot.

Bolognese a la coopspeakeats goes well with any cut of pasta. Please be respectful of this dish and be sure to serve your pasta with decent Parmesan cheese. Splurge on a nice little chunk of Reggiano or Padano parmesan at the grocery store. You'll be surprised at the difference it can make to your pasta dishes. On the Beaver we prefer our Parmesan freshly grated. Life is too short not to make your food dishes a "10"!

One small pasta tip....if you are using dried pasta, DO NOT rinse with water in a colander after cooking. EPIC FAILURE peeps! There is this silly thinking that you are rinsing off starch. That tackiness is what helps sauce stick to the pasta. All you are doing when you rinse off the pasta is making it cold and facilitating for a big 'ol puddle of water on the bottom of your pasta bowl.

One more small deet....this pasta deserves to have an big, bold, kick you in the ass red wine served beside it.

La dolce vita!