"Janet" > wrote in message
...
> Kent wrote:
>
>> The following is always where I start with Sauce Bolognese. For me,
>> Marcella Hazan is the "Julia" of Italilan cooking, and that's always
>> where one should start. You may well have this recipe, but this is in
>> case you don't: Don't worry about the carrots. There won't be a
>> carrot taste. The final phase should be very very slight ebulation of
>> the surface while cooking, just as you saw in the movie "Godfather".
>>
>> Bolognese Meat Sauce, from "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking".
>> 1 Tbs olive oil
>> 1/2 C. chopped onion
>> 2/3 C. chopped celery
>> 2/3 C. chopped carrot
>> (Onion, celery, and carrot make up "sofrito". Do NOT leave any of the
>> three out, even if you dislike celery or carrot. It just doesn't
>> work.) 3/4 pound ground beef chuck, or any ground meat you wish,
>> including veal, sausage, pork, or a mixture. Ground turkey sounds
>> good to me. The BACON will dominate the turkey. I'd leave it out.
>> 1 C. whole milk
>> 1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
>> 1 C. dry white wine
>> 1 1/2 C canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut in with their juice
>>
>> 1. Put oil in a pot with chopped onion, celery and carrots.. Turn
>> heat on to medium. Cook until soft and onion is translucent.
>> 2. Add ground meat, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of
>> pepper. Break up the meat and stir well, cooking until the beef has
>> lost its raw, red color. Don't overcook the meat.
>> 3. Add the milk and let simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it
>> has bubbled away completely. Yes, completely.. Add 1/8 tsp of grated
>> nutmeg and stir.
>> 4. Add the wine, yes white wine, and let simmer until it has
>> evaporated. 5. Add tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients.
>> When the
>> tomatoes begin to bubble, turn heat down so that the sauce cooks at
>> the laziest simmer with ocassional bubbles breaking. Cook uncovered
>> for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. If the sauce begins
>> to dry out and the fat separates from the meat, add 1/2 C of water to
>> keep it from sticking to the pot. At the end, however, no water
>> should remain and the fat must be separate from the sauce. Taste and
>> correct for salt.
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Kent
>
> This is interesting, because it is exactly the same method as that in The
> Classic Italian Cook Book, but the amount of soffrito is MUCH larger.
>
That's very interesting. I have four of her books, including the two in
question. In the "Classic Italian....." copyrighted in 1973, her recipe
included 2TB each of onions, celery, and carrot, along with milk and wine,
cooked down and added to 2 cups tomatoes. In the "Essentials of Classic
Italian.....", copyrighted in 1992, her sofrito[onion, celery,carrot]
ingredients were 2/3, 1/2, and 1/2cups each, along withi milk and wine, and
with 1 1/2 cups tomatoes. That's a striking difference. I've always used the
latter recipe with the higher dose of sofrito and I've been happy. I can't
imagine using less. Both recipes call for beef. I've experimented with all
ground meat. I think bolognese sauce is fairly delicate, and veal, along
with other ground meat, or veal by itself, is excellent. I think SF's
thoughts about using ground turkey is a great idea, and I'm going to try it.
Thanks for the "headsup". This is what NGs are all about!

Kent