Pasta with Bolognese | Two Versions from Ruth Reichl

Pasta with Bolognese is a specialty of Northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna and named for the region’s capital. Bolognese is a meat sauce, but not a deep, dark tomatoey one. I love this classic and gold-standard of Italian pasta dish. It gets even better if you are in the mood for making and rolling fresh pasta — maybe as a group project. More than that, it’s communal and fun and hearty to feed a crowd. Why not? Fresh pasta with Bolognese.

Meanwhile, you can get the sauce going. Bolognese is by no means a quick sauce to prepare. But no one is watching the clock over a long holiday week as friends and family gather about.

I’ve made the Bolognese sauce several times in the past few weeks. I thought I’ve made big batches and it never seems to be enough. So I develop two versions: an easy one with a shorter ingredient list and one that’s a little more elaborate.

If you have a pound of meat: beef, pork, veal, sausage or any combinations of the above and a can of whole tomatoes, you are set to go for the “easy” Bolognese. I found this version in Ruth Reichl’s My Kitchen Year.

If you are more ambitious and don’t mind working with a few more ingredients, which include: celery, tomato paste, milk, nutmeg and wine, there is a “long” version. I found the recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook. This one is remarkably similar to Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese in The Essentials of Classic Italian Cuisine.

Both the” easy” and “long” version require many hours of cooking. Easy, in this case, does not mean quick. As Ruth tells us 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. The secret is to allow the liquid in the sauce to evaporate before adding more water, a little at a time, as needed. More like the technique in preparing risotto. I learn something new everyday. Happy New Year!

An easy blue or a black diamond run, which one will you take?

Print Recipe

Pasta with Bolognese Sauce, a Long and an Easy Version

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped (optional for "easy" Bolognese version)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional for "easy" Bolognese version)
• 1 pound ground beef, pork, veal, or a combination of the three, or spicy pork sausage
• 1 cup whole milk (optional for "easy" Bolognese version)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional for "easy" Bolognese version)
• 1 cup dry white wine (optional for "easy" Bolognese version)
• 1 (28 ounce) can San Marzano whole tomatoes, in juice
• 1 pound fresh or dried pasta, such as tagliatelle or rigatoni
• butter
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated

Instructions

1

Heat oil and butter in a 6 to 8 quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add onion, garlic, carrots, and celery (optional) and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste (optional) and cook for 1 minute. Add meat and cook, stirring until meat is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.

2

Skip this step for an easy version of Bolognese. Add milk, nutmeg and cook, stirring until most of milk has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until all liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes.

3

Open a can of tomatoes and crush them into the pan. Set aside the remaining liquid from the can. Cook at fairly high heat, until the liquid has evaporated, stirring every once and a while. Slowly add the rest of the liquid from the can, a bit at a time.

4

The secret to the sauce is allowing the liquid to evaporate each time before adding more. When the liquid is gone, turn the heat down, add a bit of water and cook sauce at a bare simmer, for at least 2 hours. Watch the pot and add more water as needed. This is best when the sauce is dry and the tomatoes are beginning to caramelize against the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

5

When sauce is almost done, cook pasta in a 6 to 8 ounce quart pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt per every four quarts water) until al dente; drain. Immediately toss pasta in a large bowl. Add enough butter so that you can smell it melting as you toss it about. Add the sauce. Serve with cheese.

Notes

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook and My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl