Good Taste is the Worst Vice

Spaghetti bolognese

There’s something wonderfully comforting about having a pot of slowly simmering bolognese sauce on the stove.  It bubbles quietly.  It smells delicious.  It asks for nothing more than an occasional stir.
This is the kind of dish that doesn’t require many ingredients, just lots of time.  If I were an Italian grandmother, I imagine I’d be knitting lace or making limoncello while the sauce simmers – but since I’m definitely not, I paid bills online and watched the NFL playoffs (go Ravens!).

The sauce starts with a simple base of vegetables, just finely chopped carrot and onion, and three kinds of meat – beef, veal, and pork.  Once these are cooked, whole milk goes in and simmers away until the liquid is mostly gone.  This is one of the few times I cook with whole milk; it’s important to have the rich flavor of the milkfat.  After the milk comes wine, a dry white – I used a Willamette Pinot Gris.  This cooks down as well.  Finally I add canned whole tomatoes pureed into smoothness, and then the sauce cooks for a couple of hours more.

When it comes to bolognese, it’s just as easy to make a big batch as a small batch – I always do.  And so besides a hearty, delicious pasta dinner, I also end up with enough for a second meal stowed away in the freezer.  I think Italian grandmothers everywhere would approve!

Spaghetti bolognese
1/2 cup minced carrot (2 large carrots)
1/2 cup minced yellow onion (half a medium onion)
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground veal
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
2 cups dry white wine
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes




Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven.  Add carrot and onion and cook over medium heat until softened but not browned, 10-15 minutes.


Add meat, stirring and using side of spoon to break up clumps.  (I sometimes use the edge of my zig-zag potato masher for this task.)  Cook just until the raw color is gone.


Add milk and cook at a low simmer, about 30 minutes, stirring fairly often, until most of the liquid is gone and only the milkfat remains.


Add wine and continue to cook, 30-40 minutes, again until liquid is mostly gone.


Puree whole tomatoes – either using an immersion blender or in a food processor – and add.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low so that sauce is barely bubbling.  Cook 2 hours until slightly reduced.

Makes enough for 2 lbs of pasta.  Freezes well.


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