I have my favorite and an easier version of the bolognese sauce. I make it from time to time, but have never made Marcella Hazan’s bolognese sauce in its true form. Ms. Hazan had a few recipes for the classic sauce, and they are all outstanding, according to the New York Times (NYT). This one appeared in her book “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking,” and one reader from the NYT called it “the gold standard.” I’m curious to find out how my go-to recipe stacks up against the gold standard.
Without much deliberations, my dependable eater and taster is able to identify the key differences. I was told that Marcella Hazan’s bolognese sauce is less fatty and much lighter. One look at the ingredient list, the differences are obvious. It has everything to do with the proportion of the vegetable aromatics and the liquids relative to the amount of meat.
So here is the gold standard, roughly measured, in terms of key ingredients. For every pound of meat, you need 2 1/3 cups of vegetables and 4 2/3 cups of liquids. As shown in the recipe below (calling for 3/4 of ground beef), the vegetables include 1/2 cup onions, 2/3 cup celery and 2/3 cup of carrots. Similarly, the amount of liquid consists of 1 cup milk, 1 cup white wine and 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes with the juice.
Pay special attention to the cooking method, it matters.
- The making of the sauce depends, by and large, on the skill, or more specifically, the patience of the home-cook. Put aside about four hours to cook the bolognese sauce.
- It is best when the sauce becomes quite dry as the tomatoes begin to caramelize at the bottom of the pan. This takes at least two hours; there is no shortcut. The secret is to allow the liquid in the sauce to evaporate before adding more liquid. First, add the milk, then the wine and, lastly, the tomatoes.
- 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 three 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.
In the end, the reward is a luscious, utterly delicious and well-balanced sauce — the indisputable gold standard. I serve thin spaghetti with the bolognese sauce topped with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ⅔ cup chopped celery
- ⅔ cup chopped carrot
- ¾ pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef)
- Salt
- Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
- 1 cup whole milk
- Whole nutmeg
- 1cup dry white wine
- 1½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
- 1¼ to 1½ pounds pasta
- Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
Instructions
Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating -- about ⅛ teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.
Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, 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 3 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 ½ cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Stir to mix the fat into the sauce, taste and correct for salt.
Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
Notes
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015181-marcella-hazans-bolognese-sauce?
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