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Snappy Bolognese Sauce

From Beef It Up! (2022).

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A historical recipe

Beef It Up!, by Jessica Formicola (2022).

Italy

Known as an Italian recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards.

Ingredients 1 ingredient

  1. 1 pound pasta

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Bolognese sauce is simply a hearty Italian sauce made with ground beef and vegetables.
  2. The sauce itself is tomato based but commonly includes cheese, milk, or cream as well as wine.
  3. The robust flavors need time to marry, so while the active time is less than 30 minutes, the sauce itself needs an hour or so to simmer and reduce.
  4. Instead of adding wine, I use just a splash of red wine vinegar to add a similar acidity.
  5. This tasty mixture can be served over pasta, used as a meat sauce in lasagna, or incorporated in any meal that begs for a tomato-based sauce.
  6. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 pound 80% lean ground beef 1 cup chopped white onion cup chopped carrots cup chopped celery 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1 cup water 2 tablespoons tomato paste 6 large fresh basil leaves, finely minced 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons sugar cup heavy cream teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 pound pasta, cooked al dente Parmesan cheese, for topping Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat.
  7. Add the beef, breaking it into pieces in the pot.
  8. Brown on all sides.
  9. Drain the beef and set aside.
  10. Without rinsing the pot, return it to the burner and reduce the heat to medium.
  11. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.
  12. Sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring to coat.
  13. They will still be firm.
  14. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste, basil, vinegar, and sugar.
  15. Simmer for 1 hour over low heat, stirring occasionally.
  16. The mixture should thicken, reduce, and darken in color.
  17. Right before serving, stir in the cream and pepper.
  18. Serve over your favorite pasta with freshly grated Parmesan.
  19. Freezer Friendly: I encourage you to make a double, or even triple, batch.
  20. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
  21. Cook’s Note | To add even more flavor, add 1 or 2 links of hot Italian sausage, meat removed from the casing and crumbled, to the ground beef mixture.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Large pot
  • Chef's knife
  • Cutting board
  • Grater
  • Wooden spoon
  • Colander
Source not stated by archive.org
Credit

From Beef It Up! (2022), printed page 8, digitised by the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/beef-it-up

What was changed: Read by machine from the book's scanned text into ingredients and method. The title's capitals were tidied; spelling and scanning errors are left as they are.