Bolognese Sauce

Good afternoon,

Today marks the start of "pork week" at school. To get ready for this I decided [on Friday] that I was going to make something with pork in it this weekend, as a way to kind of ease into it. Well, as of Sunday morning I still hadn't figured out what I was going to make. I had picked up a cooking magazine and I was flipping through it and I found this recipe for bolognese sauce. I was surprised about how delicious it sounded to me since I'm not normally a big red meat/pork person. I decided to give it a shot, I think it came out really well and it was really easy to make! The only down side is that it makes A LOT, like Matt and I each ate a serving and it still doesn't look like we have touched it! I think I might freeze some, and next time I make it I think I would cut the recipe in half. This would be a great thing to make if you were having people come over, especially on a chilly day!

Bolognese Sauce (serves 8ish)
1# ground beef chuck
1# ground pork
4 oz pancetta, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 14.5oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbs. olive oil
1 1/4 cups red wine
Salt and Pepper
2 tsp. dried herbs
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp. worcestershire sauce

Start by roughly chopping the onion, celery, and carrots then putting them in a food processor and pulsing until they are finely chopped. If you want the veggies to be more noticeable in the sauce or you don't have a food processor then just small dice them. In a big pot, brown the meats and veggies in the oil until all of the meat is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and bring to a boil and reduce for 2 minutes. Then add the milk and bring it to a boil again and reduce until all of the liquid has evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Now add the crushed tomatoes [both the tomatoes and juice] and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. At this point you can add the pepper flakes and herbs of your choice [if you want]. Simmer the sauce for 2-3 hours. If the liquid evaporates before then you can add water in 1/2 cup increments. Add the worcestershire sauce once the sauce is done. Serve over pasta or spaghetti squash.

I think that this would also be good with some lemon juice or fresh basil. Something to freshen the sauce up since it is so heavy and rich!

xx -C