A Lazy Afternoon Making Bolognese Sauce

As the cold weather continues, we're thinking of warm and hearty dishes that complement the weather.  One that comes to mind is Bolognese sauce, which we can use several ways, by itself with pasta or, combined with a Besciamella sauce, in Lasagne Alla Bolognese.

It takes most of the afternoon to make the Bolognese sauce, but it it worth it!

First, I assemble the ingredients:  1 pound each of ground veal, ground pork, and ground beef; a cup of red wine; and chopped onion, carrots, celery, pancetta, and parsley, along with crushed red pepper flakes.

Ingredients for Bolognese sauce

As most Italian dishes start, I add about 1/4 cup of olive oil to a pot and saute a base of onions, carrots, and celery until soft.

Start with the base

Next, the pancetta is added and the mixture cooks another ten minutes.  Then, in go the three meats and I break them up with a wooden spoon and, later, a potato masher, cooking until the meats are browned.

 Vegetables and pancetta; add the meats

 Cooking and mashing until browned

Next, red pepper flakes and parsley, a little more cooking, then the wine, cooking until evaporated. I add the tomatoes, three 28-ounce cans of San Marzano tomatoes, hand crushed, continuing to stir and crush the mixture for up to three hours, until the meats and tomatoes are smooth.

Cooking, stirring, crushing

 3 hours later, ready

When the sauce is ready, the final touch is 1 cup of whole milk, stirred in, and the mixture set aside to cool.

With milk, done

We'll use this incredible sauce in several dishes over the next week.  This is definitely a great use of a lazy afternoon!