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Ragu Bolognese
On Monday, the day before going home for Thanksgiving, I ran up the stairs of the ladder like crazy in my small apartment loft and annihilated, managed to break a toe. So let me paint this picture. I slipped, I fell down the stairs, somehow you move forward and landed on my face. I lay on the floor and my cat is like, "what are you doing here?" and try to see if I can move, let alone walk.
Like, why? I limped through Monday and Tuesday, then limped to the airport, then limped back to Texas and put my foot for a week. No problem. My foot was black, but fine. Not even going to say.
So last night, I too was in a hurry, and somehow managed to get this little injured finger caught in anything but had not realized that I was in a hurry and collapsed. He fell to the ground. I screamed. So Much. People. Fingers of broken feet are not something to take lightly. Y! It’s so annoying because this foot is so small and insignificant, unless you’re trying to wear shoes without touching the little toe. You can not!
So here is a small window in my life. There is a cat who does not know what the limits are lots of pasta, and when I’m in a hurry, got injured. Every time alone.
Well since. Let’s talk about something better, something infinitely more enjoyable than a vague little finger. This Ragu Bolognese is slow cooked, rich, meaty, comforting, and perfect. That’s all.
Real Ragu should simmer for more than two hours in the kitchen, so I started to do this in the morning, so I would not have dinner at 22 hours. I started to blow the onions and garlic in a large pot until tender.
Then I added the meat; I added ground beef and chopped pancetta to the onion party.
The meat browned for about 15 minutes, then I added wine, scraping the bottom of the pan while it boiled. Next came the chicken stock and tomato paste.
That looks awful. It gets better, I promise. Anyway, I seasoned the sauce with salt and pepper then reduced the heat to low and let it simmer on the stove for about an hour and a half. When it was done simmering, it looked like this:
See what a difference time makes? In both cooking and toes, it makes all the difference. When the ragu had simmered for about 90 minutes, I added some milk, then covered it, but not all the way, and let this simmer for about 45 more minutes.
When the milk has been incorporated and the sauce has thickened, took off the heat and let cool, then stored in my fridge until I got home that night. Chilled Salsa also made a little easier to remove some of the fat. When I got home that night, I heated the pot and boiled water to fettucine.
I cooked the pasta to al dente, then added it to the ragu and tossed until each strand of pasta was coated in the sauce.
I served the pasta with a little bit of grated Parmesan on top, because I can’t not.
So I moaned at the beginning of this post about my stupid little broken toe, I sing the praises of this wonderful, not broken, Ragu. I do not know what I expected; I am who cook and I know very well that the product tomato sauce was put in the tomato paste, but I was expecting to be Ragu and a little like pot – bright red and lacy with oregano . This Bolognese ragu was anything but.
It was luxurious and rich and had a wonderful, deep flavor. It felt like a special occasion eating this. It’s special occasion pasta!
It also made wonderful leftovers, as the flavor of the sauce just seemed to get better as time went on. We ate this the next night, bumping whatever recipe I had lined up, and couldn’t have been happier.
So even if I do not understand how not to hurt my toe, I feel a little better knowing that I do not know how stew, and one awesome at that. Careful planning and two hours is all you need, and if you do not have the luxury of cooking in the morning, make a meal of the weekend. Maybe for a special occasion? Maybe for a holiday dinner? Hmm?
So, please be careful with your toes.
Here is the prescription!Ragu Bolognese (Adapted from Bon Appetit magazine)
ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound beef
3 oz chopped bacon
1/2 cup red wine
2 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth (chicken used because I had on hand)
1 tablespoon tomato paste soup
Salt and pepper
1 cup milk
Fettuccine 1 pound (or tagliatelle if you can find it!)
Grated Parmesan cheese to serve
method
Heat oil in a large medium-high heat in a saucepan. Add the onion and let soften, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
Add ground beef and bacon. Cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
After the sauce to simmer for half an hour, bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan and gradually add to the sauce. Cover the pot with a heavy lid ajar and simmer for 45 minutes, until milk is incorporated. You can add more broth if it looks thick. (At this point you can let cool and refrigerate up to two days. Just let it warm up before taking the next steps!)
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add fettuccine. Cook according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and add to sauce cooked pasta. Stir for 2 minutes until each strand of pasta is completely covered with sauce.
Serve in bowls with grated parmesan cheese on top.
Enjoy!
