Recipe: Bolognese Bowls

Bolognese Bowls

Makes enough sauce for 6 pasta portions, or about 1-1/4 pounds uncooked spaghetti.

Warning: This is not a low-cal recipe or one for cholesterol sensitive metabolisms. It's wickedly rich with butter, cream, bacon and various other meats—but I indulge in it once a year 'cause it tastes so sublime! Go low-cal and meatless for a day or two to compensate, but take the time to enjoy this awesome sauce made in the traditional Italian style—American Bolognese sauces seem to skimp on ingredients and never have the depth of flavor that this one does. Also, this sauce is so dense and intense, you don't need much to mix on pasta. As the saying goes, a little dab 'll do ya.

You can omit the chicken livers in this recipe, but they deepen the flavor considerably—if you don't tell, your liver-phobic friends will never know they're there. If you buy whole chickens, save the livers and freeze them until ready to add to this sauce (you only need 2 or 3 livers). To speed up this recipe, finely chop the vegetables in a food processor.

True Bolognese Sauce:

6 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2/3 cup uncooked bacon, finely chopped
3/4 cup ground pork (or mildly seasoned pork sausage)
3/4 cup lean ground beef
2 to 3 chicken livers (optional)
2/3 cup dry white wine
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1-1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
1/4 cup cream
Garnish: chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese

Melt half the butter in a heavy pan. Add the olive oil, onion, carrot, celery, and bacon. Fry over medium heat until the vegetables soften. Add the pork, beef and chicken livers, and brown until crumbly, breaking them up as they cook. Pour in the wine and cook until it evaporates. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken stock and tomato paste, stirring to dissolve the paste. Simmer on low heat for 1-1/2 hours. Stir in the cream and simmer on low until the cream reduces and the sauce thickens. Stir in the remaining butter until it melts and incorporates into the sauce. Toss with pasta and garnish with chopped parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.