Valeries Bolognese Sauce Food

PASTA BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Spray a large Dutch oven with cooking spray and place over MEDIUM heat. Add the ground beef and pork. Crush and stir with a large spoon to break up until fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked meat to a dish and set aside. Drain the grease from the Dutch oven.
• Add olive oil to the empty Dutch oven and place it over MEDIUM heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and parsley. Cook , stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened but not browned. Add the garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir well.
• Add the cooked and drained meat to the Dutch oven with the vegetable mixture. Season mixture with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, a generous amount of black pepper, thyme, oregano, and nutmeg. Add the wine, turn heat up to MEDIUM-HIGH and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir it into the meat mixture. Add both cans of whole tomatoes, breaking the tomatoes up with the back of a spoon as you stir them into the meat mixture (don't worry, they'll soften and be easier to break up later). Add the beef broth and milk and bring the mixture almost to a boil then turn down the heat to LOW. Cook, uncovered, for 1 to 3 hours. Sauce will be richer and thicker if it cooks longer. Check and stir occasionally.
• When ready to serve, boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to hot pan. Add desired amount of the bolognese and combine. Sprinkle in some grated Parmesan cheese and stir.
• Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the butter to the oil in small pieces and when the butter foams, add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay and stir, about 5 minutes. Add pancetta and stir 8 to 10 more minutes to render and crisp. Add about a third of the beef and crumble it with a wooden paddle or spoon, let all of the liquid absorb and let the meat begin to lightly caramelize before adding the next third; repeat. Season the meat with salt, pepper, white pepper and nutmeg. Add white wine, about a quarter to a third of a bottle, then stir and let it absorb into the meat. Scrape up all of the fond or the drippings from the meats and vegetables, being careful not to burn the meat. Add milk, tomatoes and about 1 cup stock, a piece of cheese rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano if you have one, then lower heat to simmer, partially cover and cook the sauce 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add up to 1 extra cup of stock if needed if sauce gets too thick. The perfect traditional Bolognese should be buttery, uniform and emulsified, the consistency of rich, tender, pourable oatmeal. Remove bay leaf and the rind, if using, from the sauce. Sauce may be made a few days ahead as the longer it sets, the better it gets.
• To serve, cook pasta in salted water 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 full cup of starchy cooking water, then drain pasta and place back in hot pot.
• Combine pasta with about two-thirds of the sauce, the cooking water and a couple of handfuls of grated cheese, tossing with tongs to combine.
• Serve pasta in shallow bowls with a little torn basil.

CLASSIC ITALIAN BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a 3 quart saucepan heat oil and butter. Add pancetta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until most of the fat has be rendered. Then add carrots, celery, and onions and saute for 3 minutes. Now add the beef, salt and pepper to taste and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Add the milk and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the milk is completely evaporated. Add wine and simmer until evaporated.
• Finally, add the tomatoes and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours partially covered. It's important to reduce as slowly as possible. If sauce becomes dry, add 1/2 cup water whenever necessary. When almost ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is tender but still firm to the bite, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, pat dry and return to the pot. Add your sauce to the past and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve immediately. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.

EASY VEGETABLE BOLOGNESE WITH SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut the spaghetti squash in half from top to bottom. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the squash on the prepared baking sheet cut-side up. Drizzle each half with about 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil and season with a generous pinch of salt and black pepper. Turn the squash cut-side down and bake until a fork easily pulls the "spaghetti" strands away from the squash, about 40 minutes.
• In the meantime, start the sauce. Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat and add enough olive oil to coat the base of the pot, about 2 tablespoons. Add the garlic, carrot, celery and onion to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped. Add the vegetables to the heated pot and season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Sauté the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Re-attach the food processor bowl and add the mushrooms and zucchini. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still with some texture. Add them to the pot with the other vegetables. Season with another 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and their natural liquid has mostly evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Add the milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is mostly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Next, add the red wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine is mostly evaporated, about 7 minutes.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, red pepper flakes, cheese rind and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring the sauce up to a low boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and let the sauce simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the cheese rind and discard. Season the sauce to taste.
• To serve, add spaghetti squash to individual bowls and top with a big ladle of sauce, freshly grated Parmesan and torn basil.

RIGATONI WITH VEGETABLE BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 1/2 cups very hot water. Set aside and let the mushrooms soften.
• Place the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still chunky. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Strain the porcini mushrooms, reserving the porcini mushroom liquid. Add the porcini mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the porcini mushroom liquid and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and stir just until the cheese is incorporated.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the vegetable mixture. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid, if necessary, to moisten the sauce. Toss with Parmesan and serve.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Saute the onion, carrots, and celery in about 5 tablespoons olive oil in a large rondeau until soft. Add the pancetta to the soffritto (onion mixture). Cook on a medium-high flame for about 7 to 10 minutes, then add the meat; break it up well with a wooden spoon. Cook's Note: You can jack up the heat a bit, and keep stirring until all the ground meat is browned. Add the red pepper flakes and the parsley and cook for just 1 minute.
• Add the wine now and cook until the alcohol is completely evaporated, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
• Pulse the tomatoes smooth in a food processor and add them to the meat, season generously with salt and pepper, lower the flame to medium and cook for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Finish the sauce by adding the whole milk, stir well and set aside, to cool off.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a hot saucepan, melt the unsalted butter in the olive oil, and add the carrots, onion, celery, and chili peppers. Cook the ingredients over medium heat, until they are soft. Add a sprig of rosemary.
• Add the ground beef and pork, and cook until golden brown. Remove the rosemary sprig, and add the white wine. Let the wine reduce.
• Add the 'tomato sauce or La Salsa di 5 Minuti, and let simmer on low heat for 1 hour.
• Before serving, add basil leaves and salt to season. Serve immediately.
• Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onion, garlic, and chili peppers. Gently fry ingredients together, about 5 minutes.
• Add pureed plum tomatoes to saucepan. Simmer on low to medium heat for 10 minutes.
• Season with salt, to taste. Add basil leaves at the very end.

VALERIE'S SUNDAY GRAVY (MEAT SAUCE)

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS:.
• Mix all ingredients together.
• Form into meatballs.
• Heat Canola oil in fry pan at medium.
• Fry meatballs on all sides. Do not overcook as you will continue to cook meatballs in sauce.
• Remove and set aside on some paper towels to absorb some of the fat.
• TO MAKE THE SAUCE:.
• Heat 2-Tbsp oil in large heavy pot over medium heat. Brown pork chops on both sides. This should take about 10-15 minutes.
• Remove from pan.
• Add sausages, brown on all sides and remove from pan.
• Drain most of fat from pot.
• Add garlic and cook for about 2-minutes. Do not burn !
• Add tomatoes with their juices to the pot (I put the tomatoes first in a blender and pulse about three times to break up the tomatoes).
• Add water, salt and pepper to taste.
• Add pork, sausages and basil and bring sauce to a simmer.
• Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2-hours.
• After 2 hours, add the meatballs and cook for 30 minutes or so.
• Serve with pasta of choice.