Emeril Lagasse's True Bolognese
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, from Emeril’s Sizzling Skillets and Other One Pot Wonders, HarperCollins Publisher, New York, 2011, copyright MSLO, Inc., all rights reserved.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces pancetta, finely chopped
- 1 1⁄2 cups small-diced onion
- 3⁄4 cup small-diced carrot
- 3⁄4 cup small-diced celery
- 3⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
- 1 pound ground sirloin
- 1⁄2 pound ground veal
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3⁄4 cup dry white wine
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 1⁄2 cups beef stock or canned low-sodium beef broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 pound dried pasta, such as tagliatelle or pappardelle, cooked until al dente, for serving
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish
Preparation
In a medium Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium- high heat and cook the pancetta until it is crisp and the fat is rendered, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the onion, carrot, celery, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook until the vegetables are lightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, 4 to 6 minutes. Increase the heat and stir in the sirloin and veal. Cook, stirring and breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is well browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and garlic and cook until the wine is nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and reduce the heat to low. Cook, partially covered, until the liquid is almost completely evaporated, about 10 minutes.
Add 1 ⁄2 cup of the half-and-half and continue cooking for 30 to 40 minutes, adding the remaining half- and- half little by little as the sauce reduces. The sauce should be very thick and rich. Season with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and additional black pepper to taste; you may not need any more seasoning, depending on the stock that you used. Stir in the parsley.
Serve the sauce tossed with cooked pasta and garnish with grated cheese.