Ragu Bolognese (a bit rushed) ----------------------------- Got raves for this one, which was pretty cool considering I forgot to add garlic (therefore marked optional here) and didn't give it more than about an hour simmering time. This makes a very rich, tomatoey Bolognese, excellent served over fettucine or another similar wide egg pasta. You can, if you wish, serve it Italian-American style over spaghetti, but I was shooting for authenticity over more-of-the-usual when I made it so I went for some Barilla dried egg fettucine (couldn't find the crank to my pasta maker :-( ). The name of the game with a ragu bolognese is reduction; in that regard, you can see some connections with French technique there, and the long simmering process is very much like making chili. It's a sauce that's built, more than anything else, starting with a mirepoix with everything being added in stages. The end result is quite different from the average American Chop Suey (a term that I never used to like, until I found out what chop suey actually meant in Cantonese). Also, the addition of dairy is pretty typical for an Italian bolognese as well, but doesn't seem too common in foreign interpretations. Don't feel too tied to the measurements, either. I eyeballed everything (as most cooks would) and the amounts below are very approximate. 1 lb/450g ground chuck 1 lb/450g ground pork 1 28-oz can ground tomatoes 1 glass/6 oz/175mL red wine 6 oz/175mL milk 1 large carrot, peeled and minced 2 ribs celery, minced 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed (optional) basil, oregano, and thyme to taste bay leaf olive oil salt In an electric frying pan on medium heat, add some olive oil and cook the carrot, celery, and onion with a bit of salt until the vegetables are softening and the onion is translucent (turn down the heat if it starts to scorch). Add garlic and meats, and cook until meat is cooked through; drain fat if necessary. Add wine and cook briefly until it begins to reduce and permeate the meat, then add milk and do the same. Add tomatoes and herbs, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover, allowing it to simmer for at least an hour (like chili or stew, the longer the better). Serve over a wide egg pasta such as fettucine or papardelle. Variations: A similar sauce, ragu d'agnello, is made in other parts of Italy with ground lamb; I've seen recipes from Abruzzo and Tuscany. To make it, increase the garlic to three cloves, replace the beef and pork with 1 lb/450g ground lamb, and eliminate the milk. Serve it over spaghetti alla chitarra (a semolina-and-egg pasta traditionally cut on a guitar-like wire frame) if you can find it.