Corina’s Bolognese

Here is Corina Wiebel's recipe for bolognese. It uses pancetta, ground pork and beef, mirepoix, canned tomatoes, white wine and parmesan rinds (which you should be saving), and it’s cooked in the oven. There are so many ways to get to delicious. Follow this recipe, or take some direction from this one and some from another source. (Perhaps you are devoted to Marcella Hazan’s from “The Classic Italian Cookbook” which uses milk and no parmesan rinds and keeps it on the stove top.) Use what you've got on hand and find your own delicious destination.

corina's bolognese:

a pasta like a fat rigatoni

2 carrots - small dice

2 celery stalk - small dice

2 yellow onions - small dice

3 cloves garlic - slice

1 chili d’arbol

1/4 # diced pancetta 

1# ground beef

1/2# to1# ground pork or pork cheek

white wine

2 c beef or chicken stock

1 28 oz can of tomato - crushed by hand

1 fat parmesan rind

salt and pepper

in an oven proof pan over medium heat render the ground meats with a dash of salt, do this gently so it does not get crispy. 

once a good deal of the fat has rendered out, 

add the diced vegetables and sliced garlic, sweat it out.

add the white wine - cook it out

add the stock - cook it out a little bit, let it reduce by 1/4 or a 1/3

pour in the hand crushed tomato

add the chili d’arbol

add the parmesan rind

put the whole pan in a 375 degree oven

let it cook slowly, for about 2 hours, check regularly for liquid level. you don’t want it soup, but don’t let it dry out. you want it to concentrate. remember you will add pasta water when you are serving it

when the sauce is unctuous and delicious... because, of course you have tasted it more than once, cook your pasta….