Ragu alla Bolognese

There are a lot of recipes for Bolognese sauce out there, and as I have commented in my blogs before, everybody, especially Italian households, have their own version.  But recently, I was told that Bologna has published the "original" version of their world famous sauce.  I was really really happy to see that mine is quite close to the original....but like all every one else, I have my own tweaked version of it. 

It really isn't as laborious as it sounds, once you have it on the stove, you can basically leave it (but just make sure it doesn't burn).  Since this is my daughter's favorite sauce, I will happily relinquish my recipe.  If you have any left over, obviously this is what you can use to make meat lasagna. 

I generally prefer it with spinach tagliatelle, or pappardelle.  I am not a huge fan of spaghetti.....I kind of have to crave spaghetti.  But nothing reminds me more of my youth in Lugano than a plate of "Cicche del Nonno con ragu bolognese".  Cicche del nonno (grandpa's cigars) are ricotta and spinach gnocchi, which is a dish I haven't yet mastered.....but I also think I haven't tried it out since I remember it so fondly, and I also tend to think that food tastes so much better when someone else prepares it.   Maybe my next post will be to try and recreate my childhood favorite....let's see.  But in the meantime, here is my recipe for Ragu alla Bolognese.  Pour yourself a glass of the wine you are using, put on some music (Radiohead or The Killers is always a great option) and enjoy the process,  Alla tua salute!

1/4 cup olive oil
2 slices of guanciale or pancetta, finely diced (if you can't get either, you can use bacon as a last resort.)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, grated
1 large stalk of celery, finely diced
1 lb ground beef or pork ( I like to use a mix of both)
1 cup white wine (in winter I like to use red)
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp salt
3 cups pureed tomatoes (canned or fresh from Roma or pear tomatoes)
Pepper to taste

1.In a large stockpot with a heavy bottom, fry up your guanciale or pancetta until it is golden brown over medium high heat.

2.Lower the heat to low, and add your onion, celery and carrot.  Saute, covered for 10-15 minutes.

3. Uncover and raise heat to high, and add your meat and brown.  When the meat is no longer pink, add your wine and let it evaporate completely. 

4.When the wine is all evaporated, add your salt, stock and pureed tomatoes and let it come to a boil.
 Let it boil for 10 minutes uncovered, then lower the heat to medium low,  and let it simmer with the top half off for about 2 hours, or until it is thick and glossy and all of the water from the tomatoes is evaporated.  Add  the fresh ground pepper.  You can serve it immediately, but it is always better after it has rested overnight.