After recently reading Hazan’s famous, “Essentials of Italian Cooking,” cover to cover, I had to give one of her simple but accoladed recipes a try, opting first for her Beef Bolognese. At the end of a long week, I took advantage of the weekend to spend something like six hours babying this sauce. Was it worth it? Yes. Would I do it again…maybe! The recipe claims 3-4 hours of simmer time, but I found it took much longer with three liquid batches to reduce. The result is a delicious, soft Bolognese with no acidic bite from wine or tomatoes, just be sure you have the time!

Marcella Hazan’s Beef Bolognese (*with a few minor edits)

• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 3 T. butter
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 2/3 c. chopped celery
• 2/3 c. chopped carrot
• 3/4 lb. ground beef
• 1 c. whole milk
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 c. dry white wine
• 1.5 c. canned Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, & returned to their juice
• 1.5 T. red pepper flakes (my addition. omit if desired.)
• 1 lb. pasta such as bucatini
• Shredded Parmesan for serving

1. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, over medium heat, add oil, butter, and onion. Saute until onion is transluscent, about five minutes.
2. Add celery and carrot. Saute about 2 minutes.
3. Add ground beef, salting and peppering immediately. Crumble with a large spoon and cook until raw redness is gone.
4. Add the milk and allow to simmer, stirring frequently, until it has completely bubbled away.
5. Stir in nutmeg.
6. Add the wine and allow to simmer until evaporated. (Steps 4-6 may take 1 hour+).
7. Add the tomatoes, stirring thoroughly to combine. Bring to a bubble, then turn to the lowest simmer and allow to cook 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
8. Towards the end of cooking, stir in red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper- all to taste.
9. Toss with cooked pasta and top with grated Parmesan.

Note: Hazan claims if you don’t have the time to cook this in one long stretch, remove from heat and continue as time allows- as long as the sauce is finished in the same day, it should be fine.