When I first tried restaurant bolognese sauces, I thought “eh, nothing special”. But I have since learned that there is nothing better than a real, slow-cooked bolognese.

This is a melt-in-your-mouth rich and meaty sauce that will make you easily consume multiple portions in a single sitting. It is essentially the same recipe as Marcella Hazan’s bolognese, with some minor tweaks. I always double it as I’ve done below so that it makes 4 heaping cups.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 tablespoons diced carrots
• 3 tablespoons diced onions
• 2 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes
• 2 cups of a dry white wine
• 2 cups of whole milk (I use goat milk now but used to have it with cow’s milk)
• 2 lbs ground meat, either 16% fat beef or an equal blend of beef, veal and pork
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Add butter to a very large pan and heat over medium-low
2. Add the vegetables and cook until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes
3. Add ground meat and cook until no longer raw pink, about 10 minutes
4. Crumble the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula to make it even smoother
5. Add the milk and cook for 30 minutes until the liquid is basically clear
6. Add the wine and cook for 30 minutes until it has evaporated
7. Break the tomatoes apart and add with their sauce, cooking for 3 hours on the lowest possible heat

Serve over fresh pasta, I suggest fettucine or gnocchi, and top with fresh grated parmesan.

Salut!