This is perhaps the most famous recipe created by Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed how Americans cook Italian food. It also may be her easiest. Use your favorite canned tomatoes for this and don’t be scared off by the butter. It gives the sauce an unparalleled velvety richness.
Provided by: SmallRecipe.com
Total time: 1 hours
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
| 2 cups tomatoes, in addition to their juices (for example, a 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes) |
| 5 tablespoons butter |
| 1 onion, peeled and cut in half |
| Salt |
Steps:
- Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter and the onion halves in a saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt.
- Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with a spoon. Add salt as needed.
- Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta. This recipe makes enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
Nutrition Facts:
@context http//schema.org, Calories 153, UnsaturatedFat 4 grams, Carbohydrate 6 grams, Fat 15 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 1 gram, Saturated Fat 9 grams, Sodium 287 milligrams, Sugar 3 grams, TransFat 1 gram
After the death in 2013 of Marcella Hazan, the cookbook author who changed the way Americans cook Italian food, The Times asked readers which of her recipes had become staples in their kitchens. Many people answered with one word: “Bolognese.” Ms. Hazan had a few recipes for the classic sauce, and they are all outstanding. This one appeared in her book “The Essentials of Classic Italian Cuisine,” and one reader called it “the gold standard.” Try it and see for yourself.
Provided by: SmallRecipe.com
Total time: 4 hours
Yield: 2 heaping cups, for about 6 servings and 1 1/2 pounds pasta
Ingredients:
| 1 tablespoon vegetable oil |
| 3 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta |
| 1/2 cup chopped onion |
| 2/3 cup chopped celery |
| 2/3 cup chopped carrot |
| 3/4 pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef) |
| Salt |
| Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill |
| 1 cup whole milk |
| Whole nutmeg |
| 1 cup dry white wine |
| 1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice |
| 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta |
| Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table |
Steps:
- Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
- Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
- Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating — about 1/8 teaspoon — of nutmeg, and stir.
- Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.
- Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.