Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 6 hours

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter (divided)

1 cup chopped onion

1 1/3 cups chopped celery

1 1/3 cups chopped carrot

1 pound ground chuck ((I used 1/2 pound chuck and 1/2 pound veal))

1/2 pound ground pork

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups whole milk

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups dry white wine

3 cups canned imported Italian San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand (with their juice)

As much pasta as you wish (Marcella prefers tagliatelle) (cooked and drained)

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (at the table)

Directions

Sauté

In a heavy 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the oil and 6 tablespoons butter until the butter melts and stops foaming. Toss in the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Cook

Toss in the celery and carrot and cook, stirring to coat them with the oil and butter, for 2 minutes.

Brown

Add the chuck and pork, a very healthy pinch of salt, and a goodly amount of pepper. Crumble the meat with a wooden spoon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meats have just lost their raw-red color.

Simmer

Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the milk and simmer gently, stirring frequently, until the liquid has completely evaporated, about 1 hour.

Stir in the nutmeg. Pour in the wine and gently simmer, stirring frequently, until it's evaporated, about 1 1/4 hours more.

Simmer

Add the tomato purée or crushed tomatoes and stir well. When the tomato puree begins to bubble, turn down the heat so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers with just an intermittent bubble breaking the surface.

Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is burbling away, there's a chance that it'll start drying out. To keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot and scorching, add 1/2 cup water if necessary, just know that it's crucial that by the time the sauce has finished simmering, the water should be completely evaporated, and the fat should separate from the sauce.

Serve

Taste a spoonful—or two—of sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the hot pasta and toss with the sauce. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 portion
• Calories: 445 kcal
• Total Fat: 29 g
• Saturated Fat: 14 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
• Trans Fat: 1 g
• Cholesterol: 95 mg
• Sodium: 233 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 16 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Total Sugars: 10 g
• Protein: 20 g