When I was younger, my father and I used to go to dinner, just the two of us, every Tuesday night. At first, we went to this restaurant called il Pomodoro. I would get rigatoni marinara, and my dad would get linguini Bolognese. After il Pomodoro closed, we started going to a different restaurant called Vico. I was older by then, and ready for a new standard, something my mother didn’t make at home. This time, I went for the Bolognese… and I fell immediately in love.
It’s been a long time since I had this pasta sauce. My mother made a mean marinara, but Bolognese was not on her repertoire. We still go to Vico sometimes, but I’ve expanded my horizons, and I usually opt for a salad and one of the lighter pasta dishes instead of the bowl full of heavy, velvety Bolognese that I adored when I was younger.
But when I saw this recent post on Skillet Doux, I was reminded of my former favorite… and I was up to the challenge of trying to make it.
Sure enough, less than five minutes after mixing what looked like a watery base of ingredients together, the smells of Bolognese came wafting from the kitchen. It cooked, bubbling for a full hour, before the Canadian and I couldn’t stand it anymore, and we ate it over mushroom ravioli… delicious.
Bolognese (adapted from Gourmet, October 2002)
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 carrot, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 lb. veal
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup red wine
6 oz. tomato paste
dried basil
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. creme fraiche
parmesan for serving
Heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the vegetables and a bit of salt, and cook until soft, about five minutes. In another skillet, cook the meat until all pink is gone. Drain excess fat and add to the vegetables. Add tomato paste, water, milk, wine and basil. Cook down until the sauce is thick, about an hour and a half. Turn off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the creme fraiche. Serve immediately over pasta (I like mushroom ravioli, but rigatoni are good as well) with plenty of cheese on the side.
