By: The Food Hunter

Although every Italian family has their own version of bolognese—or as locals call it, ragu alla bolognese—most will agree a well-made recipe includes not only beef, pork and veal, but also thin slices of local mortadella. The hearty meat sauce is slowly simmered for hours and finished with milk or cream before serving over pasta. The perfect vehicle for bolognese sauce is handmade long egg noodles known as tagliatelle. Tagliatelle is best suited for this rich meat sauce due to its flat rough texture, but any good quality pasta shape will do.

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 large carrots, peeled & finely chopped
• 2 large ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced parsley
• 1 Lb ground beef
• 1 Lb ground pork
• 1 Lb ground veal
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz thinly sliced mortadella, cut into julienne
• 1 lb pasta

Directions

1. Warm the olive oil and butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. When the butter is melted and begins to sizzle, stir in the garlic, carrots, celery, onion and parsley. Reduce the heat to medium and sauté the vegetables for about 10 minutes, or until they are softened and golden.

2. Add the beef, pork and veal and mix well, using a wooden spoon to break up the meats. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the meat turns a deep brown and is crumbly but still tender and not at all hard. This will take about an hour or slightly longer.

3. When the meat is ready, raise the heat to medium, stir in the sine, and mix for a few minutes, until the wine evaporates. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the nutmeg and stir in the milk. Cook, stirring for 3 to 4 minutes, or until most of the milk has been absorbed.

5. In a small bowl, dilute the tomato paste with a splash of the beef broth and add to the sauce. Mix well and add the remaining broth. Cover partially, reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer slowly for 2 hours or more, or until it is very thick and all of the vegetables have more or less melted into the sauce.

6. Stir in the cream and the mortadella and cook at a gentle simmer until heated through.

7. Serve over pasta