Saturday, December 31, 2016

Mom's Pasta ala Bolognese






This is the first installment of recipes I'm sharing from my Mom's side of the family. Some by my maternal grandmother, "Honeygram", as well as my mother and her three sisters. I and my various cousins have inherited a wonderful culinary legacy from these matriarchs of our family and I'm proud to share some of their recipes here. My first dish is my mom's bolognese sauce. As you might have noticed I didn't refer to it as spaghetti bolognese even though that is the way we usually have it in my family. Although sauce ala bolognese exists in Italy, it is never served with spaghetti there. The Italians prefer a larger macaroni like Rigatoni which does a much better job of holding the thick chunky sauce. Now you know why you have such a hard time getting your pasta and sauce in the same bite! But there are no rules in cooking or the bedroom so spaghetti it is. What follows is my mothers recipe in her own hand. It's a wonderful dish for special occasions and I hope you enjoy it!

Bolognese Sauce(Fancy)

Ingredients:
4 to 5 bacon slices chopped int 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup milk
1 large can(29 oz) plum tomatoes with liquid
1 cup beef stock or bullion
1/3 cup tomato paste (1/2 of 6 oz can)
1/2 tsp salt
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 lb package spaghetti

In large saucepan, cook the bacon pieces over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Reserve bacon for later. Add onion and garlic to the pan drippings and saute until soft and translucent. Add carrot and celery. Continue sauteing until tender. Increase heat to medium high. Crumble beef into vegetables. Saute 2 to 3 minutes until meat has barely browned, stirring and tossing to break up the meat. Increase heat to high. Add wine and milk. Boil rapidly about 5 minutes until liquid has reduced slightly.  Stir in bacon and remaining ingredients except spaghetti. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 90 minutes. Stir frequently and break up tomatoes with a spoon as they cook. When sauce is nearly finished, cook spaghetti in a large sauce pan according to package directions. Drain pasta and serve immediately with sauce. Makes 6 servings, about 510 calories each.