best. bolognese. ever.

Hello long lost readers! I have been a very delinquent blogger lately and we have a lot of catching up to do. I'll start by sharing my favorite bolognese sauce recipe which is actually a hybrid of two versions of bolognese sauce from Mario Batali, one from "Molto Italiano," and another that I downloaded from the Food Network all the way back in 2000.

Ragu Bolognese

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground veal

1/4 cup pancetta, ground in a food processor

1/2 cup whole milk

8 oz canned diced tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

salt and fresh ground pepper

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add beef, pork, veal, and pancetta and stir until vegetables. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally until all meat has browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Add milk and simmer until mostly reduced, about ten minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, wine and thyme leaves. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for at least two hours and up to two and a half hours, until you get the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe yields more than 2 quarts (8 cups) of sauce. You'll only need 1/2 that amount for one pound of pasta. The rest can go right in your freezer.

I like to add a little of the pasta's cooking water to the sauce and add the pasta to the simmering sauce when it's still pretty al dente and finish cooking it in the sauce before adding lots of grated cheese.