Classic Italian Bolognese Recipe

Step 1

Use a food processor to finely chop the celery, onion, and carrots

Step 2

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Then add onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté until the veggies begin to caramelize (about 6 - 8 minutes).

Step 3

Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Step 4

Remove the cooked vegetables (soffritto) from the pot and save until needed.

Step 5

Add the olive oil and ground beef to the pot. Season with sea salt and black pepper and cook for about 10 minutes until the meat browns. Don't be tempted to continually stir and break up the meat. Allow it to get brown well, caramelizing some of the natural sugars in the meat. When the ground beef is fully cooked break up the meat with a wire whip and remove it from the pan.Repeat this process with the sausage meat. Add more olive oil if needed.When cooking is complete add the cooked beef back into the pot.

Step 6

Add the red wine to the hot pot. It will deglaze the pan, releasing all the browned bits stuck to the bottom. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a large spoon to help get all the stuck bits loose.

Step 7

Return the reserved soffritto to the pot, mix well and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Step 8

Add the crushed tomatoes, milk, basil and parsley, mixing well. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. *If you want to add the nutmeg this is the time to do it. Traditionally nutmeg is added, but its a flavor I've never enjoyed or included in my Bolognese sauce.

Step 9

Reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 4 hours.

Step 10

Stir in heavy cream and Romano cheese, mix well to incorporate the cream and cheese into the sauce. If the sauce is too thick you can add a little water, red wine or milk to thin it out.

Step 11

Re-season with sea salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.

Step 12

Serve with your favorite wide noodle pasta, I used Pappardelle.