Egg Pappardelle Bolognese
Hearty, meaty and deeply satisfying. This is the real deal, iconic and authentic Italian Classic. Creating the Bolognese sauce is a labor of love, but it can be made ahead of time and freezes well for a delicious dinner weeks or months later. Traditionalists note: this sauce is not a true ragù: Bolognese sauce uses white wine and smaller amounts of tomatoes, while ragù uses red wine and lots of tomatoes. The sweet, less-acidic taste of authentic D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes-- certified and protected by the Italian government-- add exactly the right taste to make this dish in its authentic, old world taste perfection.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Flora Organic Extra Virgin Unfiltered olive oil
- 1 small/medium carrot
- 1 small celery stalk
- 1 small onion
- 1 lb ground beef (80-85% lean)
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 16 ounces beef broth
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 28 ounce can Flora D.O.P. San Marzano Tomatoes
- 2-3 pinches salt
- 2 dashes pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- 1-2 whole bay leaves
- 1/3 cup milk (2 % or whole milk)
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- Butter
- Flora Homestyle Egg Pappardelle
Instructions
- Melt butter with olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; gently cook onion, celery, and carrot together; add 1 or 2 whole bay leaves and a pinch of salt. Cook just until the onion turns translucent-- no longer than 5 minutes. Stir ground beef, ground pork and ground veal into vegetables and cook, stirring constantly. Cook until meat is crumbly and gently browned, about 5 minutes. Drain excess fat, then season mixture with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg.
- Pour milk into mixture and gently bring just to a simmer. Continue to simmer about 5 minutes, until most of the milk has evaporated and is integrated into the sauce.
- Raise heat to medium high, then pour good-quality white wine into the sauce mixture. Cook and continue to stir for 5 minutes or so, until the white wine has evaporated
- Pour San Marzano tomatoes with juice into a large mixing bowl. Crush gently with a spoon, leaving somewhat chunky. Add tomatoes paste to the sauce along with 2 cups beef stock.
- Now the hard part-- waiting! Reduce the heat to low and simmer, simmer, simmer. You'll need to stir often. Not only are you waiting for the sauce to thicken, but you're also waiting for the heat and stirring to gently integrate all the ingredients. Plan on at least 3 hours. Longer is better-- some swear by slowly simmering for 6 hours! Don't hurry your Bolognese-- it will be worth it! Add more stock if sauce thickens too quickly.
- When the sauce is nearly ready, heat 4 quarts of salted water to the boil. Add the pappardelle and cook according to instructions to just al dente. Save back half a cup of the pasta water while you drain the pasta.
- In a separate sauce pan, place 2 large spoonful of sauce. Heat to medium-high. Add drained pasta and stir to lightly coat each ribbon of pasta. Add rest of sauce, stir and then begin adding pasta water a Tablespoon at a time , stirring until pasta is fully coated.
- Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese on the side. Get ready to be asked to make again next week!