You can make this dish any weeknight if you:
- are independently wealthy or have a trust fund & don't need to work.
- have a sugar daddy/mommy that can support you.
- have been laid off.
- or like to eat like the Spaniards and eat dinner at 11pm.
Since I am neither I make this dish on the weekend.
And trust me it is well-worth the time and effort anyday of the week.
It doesn't cook for very long but requires many steps and interesting ingredients to gain the depth of flavor that a long-simmered bolognese requires. Oh yeah, you gotta have REAL parmiggiano reggiano. This is a must. If it comes from a green can you might as well open up jar sauce instead. Lidia would not be pleased.
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| Meatloaf mix is simmered with finely diced carrots, onion, pancetta and surprisingly porcini mushrooms (umami). This mixture cooks in whole milk until evaporated. Pureed whole tomatoes are added and a concentrated Riesling syrup is added at the end. Parmiggiano is served at the table. |
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| I make it with rigatoni. Penne, fusilli, papparedelle or any thicker pasta that can hold up to the meaty sauce will do. |
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| Of course we make Cook's Illustrated's garlic bread too. Garlic cloves are pan roasted for 10 minutes to mellow the flavor, then mixed with grated parm and spread over country bread and then broiled. |
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| A simple green salad contrasts nicely with the hearty bolognese and starchy bread. |
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A perfect "weeknight" bolognese on Saturday night. Maybe Lidia or even Marcella would approve. Tutti a tavola a mangiare!!! |
darling, I cannot think of anything I'd rather read than you writing about food… amazing, and I happen to be a freak for a good bolognese, I love Marcella Hazen's recipe and it is not as labor intensive and the above…quattro per la cena!
ReplyDeleteuncle d i think youre goin to have to send me that garlic bread recipe...looks pretty good
ReplyDeleteMike Yanagita / Darren... LOVE your Bolognese recipe... but where's the vino, Paisano?? Another method (instead of a cream/milk infused base), cook up the onions and pancetta with your favorite red wine or cab, then let the mushrooms simmer and soak up all the great flavor as it reduces and the tomatoes stew for maybe 15-20 minutes. my Sicilian/Calabrese family always added sugar to a meat sauce but never went too easy on the pepon!
ReplyDeleteDarren,
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog! How fun. I just cooked another Cook's Illustrated recipe, but it didn't have porcinis or the syrup. Just a big bottle of dry white wine. It made an enormous amount -- it's from the Slow Cooker cook book. So, I froze a jar of it for later and just reheated the second batch last night. Yumm.