One of my all time favorite dishes. So hearty and filling and flavorful! I frequent Acqua Santa in Brooklyn, New York and they have by far, the best bolognese I have ever tasted. They refuse to let me in on the secret so I had to try and make it from scratch, myself. Thank you to Oh, Sweet Basil for letting me in on the secret ingredient! Enjoy this authentic dish with a couple of tweaks from yours truly. Want to cook along with me? Check out the latest Cooking with Rachel episode on YouTube now!
PREP TIME: 20 MINS
COOK TIME: 3-6 HOURS
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, minced
- 2 ribs of celery, minced
- 1 medium-sized red onion, minced
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground beef, higher fat
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
- 4 oz pancetta, minced
- 2 cups of halved roma tomatoes (~4-5 tomatoes)
- 2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- dash of cooking white wine
- zest of 1 lemon
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- dash of nutmeg
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese for serving
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Halve roma tomatoes and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with avocado oil and salt + pepper to taste.
- Roast for 20 minutes or until soft and charred bits start to appear.
- Remove the tomatoes and set aside to cool.
- Once cooled, blend the tomatoes in a high-power blender to make a tomato sauce.
- In a dutch oven or stock pot, over medium high heat, add the ground beef, sausage and pancetta and ground up the meat as it's cooking.
- Once browned, remove from heat and drain some of the grease.
- Using that same dutch pot, over medium heat add the butter and oil. Once melted, add the minced carrots, celery, and onion.
- Saute, stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Toss in the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Pour in a dash of wine and stir.
- Add back in the ground beef, sausage and pancetta.
- Cook for about 5 minutes and then start adding in all other ingredients.
- Stir well to combine and then let simmer for 3 hours or for an entire afternoon.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve with fresh pasta, preferably pappardelle and fresh Parmesan cheese.
*This keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze in airtight container. It tastes great the next day - try using this in a lasagna!
