Homemade Pasta Bolognese

A few weeks ago we went to one of our favorite Italian places downtown, Trattoria Giorgio. The Other Williams got an amazing pasta bolognese and just had to give her old recipe a make over. This was the yummy result. The blend of veal, beef, and pork really put this recipe over the edge. We called ahead to our meat department and asked them to ground and mix the meat mixture for us.

The pasta is also homemade and a the recipe for that will be posted soon. If your craving some good Italian this is your recipe!



Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 medium carrot, finely diced
• 1 medium celery rib, finely diced
• 2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, finely diced
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• One 28-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes—seeded and finely chopped, juices reserved
• 1 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 pounds penne rigate
• Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, celery and pancetta and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened but not browned, about 8 minutes. Scrape the vegetable mixture into a large bowl.
   
2. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the saucepan and heat until just shimmering. Add the beef, veal and pork and cook over moderately high heat until just barely pink, about 5 minutes. Return the vegetable mixture to the saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost evaporated, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, the chicken stock, thyme and bay leaf. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover partially and cook over moderately low heat for 1 hour. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the heavy cream and cook the sauce just until heated through.
   
3. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain well, return to the pot and toss with the sauce. Serve the pasta in deep bowls and pass the Parmesan at the table.

Make Ahead
The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen up to 1 month.