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When I broke my fifteen-plus years of vegetarianism, this bolognese was one of the dishes I was most excited to enjoy again. I don’t have an Italian grandmother or any particular memory of it, but the experience of this kind of sauce is everything that makes cooking feel like magic. As the meat browns and begins to go from soft and pink to dark brown and crispy, the air is full of savory, buttery smells. You add the vegetables and the aroma becomes

more complex, then suddenly a rush of steam and a burst of bright sweetness hit you as the wine deglazes the pan. Then the tomato paste mixes with the fats, and suddenly it looks like sauce and smells almost illegally savory. Finally, the tomato and milk and parmesan simmer, and you take off the lid and it’s gone from soupy to a thick, red, oily sauce that smells like everything you could ever want. It’s not fast, but this is Potions Class and you are making magic.

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Cozy Cold-Weather Bolognese

TL;DR: Brown beef and pork, combine with chopped vegetables, and cook for 20 minutes. Deglaze pan, add remaining sauce ingredients, and cook for 45 minutes more. As the sauce cooks, boil pasta, grate cheese, and chop parsley for serving.
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Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt plus more to taste
  • 2 small red onions diced
  • 1 large carrot diced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 1 (any color) bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and diced
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 6 tablespoons tomato paste (3 oz)
  • 1 28 oz. can tomatoes crushed or diced
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 parmesan rind (see note)
  • 1 pound pasta of your choice such as tagliatelle (traditional) or orecchiette (pictured)
  • grated parmesan for serving
  • chopped flat leaf parsley for serving

Notes

Note: The white wine deglazes the pan, meaning it gets the delicious brown bits into the sauce instead of letting them burn.
Note: I make a lighter, warm- weather version of this by substituting finely chopped cauliflower for half the meat;
I add the cauliflower with the other vegetables in Step 2. It is still lovely and hearty without sitting quite so heavily in your tummy.
Note: The parmesan rind adds salty richness to the sauce. If you don’t have one, just add
1 extra teaspoon of salt in Step 4.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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