10/16/12

A Bolognese Bon Appétempt

Alice Waters didn't have a picture of her bolognese recipe:

So Kara drew one:
And then we made one:

And then we did this:

In case you haven't noticed, I love when friends visit from out of town and we spend the afternoon in the kitchen, with maybe just a couple of short trips outside of the houseperhaps to go on a windy walk and/or to see some art in Highland Park. In short, thanks for coming to visit, Kara and Tim! It was awesome and now we have proof! Thank you also to Alice Waters for a delicious recipe that I've always wanted to try. Oh! And thank you, Bologna, for having invented this almost tomato-less pasta sauce. It was unexpected and delicious, like some kind of gravy for pasta. (Perhaps this is why Tony Soprano always referred to pasta sauce as gravy?)
And while I'm doling out thank you's, I want to send a giant one out to all of you. The encouraging comments y'all left on the last post got me through my wallowing session and spit me out on the the sunny side of the street. Here's to autumn and stewing meats!

Bolognese Sauce via The Art of Simple Food
makes about 3 cups (I doubled the recipe as it's time-consuming to make and the leftovers are even better.)

Heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot: 1 tablespoon olive oil
Add: 2 oz. pancetta, diced fine
Cook over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add:
1 small onion, diced fine
1 celery stalk, diced fine
1 carrot, diced fine
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 sage leaves
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 12 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, heat in a large heavy-bottomed pan, preferably cast iron:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add and brown over medium-high heat, in two batches:
1 pound skirt steak, cut into 1/8-inch cubes
4 ounces pork shoulder, coarsely ground

Cook until the meat is a nice chestnut color. Once all the meat is browned, pour in:
1 cup dry white wine
Reduce the wine by half, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the browned meat and the deglazing juices to the tender vegetables with:
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt

Measure and stir together:
2 cups beef or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk

Pour enough of this liquid into the pot to bring it to the level of the meat and vegetables. Simmer gently until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. As the liquid reduces, keep topping it up with the rest of the broth and milk, and skimming the fat that rises to the surface.
When the meat is tender, remove the sauce from the heat and season to taste with more salt, if needed, and:
fresh-ground black pepper

44 comments:

Matthew said...

Super fun weekend! Still eating the bolognese!!

Sarah said...

I love it! I'm finishing up a (long) month of traveling here in Spain and Portugal, and though the trip was a blast, I'm itching to get back home to my own bed and kitchen. Can't wait to start cooking things like this meat sauce! Also cannot wait to end living out of a backpack.

As for wallowing....I can say I do the same, and lots of it. Sometimes I go kicking and screaming, but a rendezvous with familiar faces always seems to help. Not that that's advice (it's so obvious)...

Have a great weekend!

Kara said...

Awwwwwwww! That is the best!! Thank you guys SOOOOO much for having us. We had the greatest time.
xoxoxo
K&T

Ashley said...

Love the video! It's real life stop-motion. Is that even a term? Well, either way, it was wonderful. And the salad looks just as delicious as the bolognese. Yum!

Stacy said...

I love this video. It makes me want to have my own friends visit from states away. Thanks for sharing your lovely time with all of us!

Anonymous said...

What a great blog entry, and I loved the video. Well done!

Kimberley said...

LOVE! I have always wanted to do stop-motion. This one rules - it captures the feeling of an entire evening and I like that.

ileana said...

Aw, I love all your videos, but I *love* this one! Know what I mean?

p.s. that's a pretty bolognese bowl.

Eileen said...

YAY! I haven't had a good homemade bolognese in ages--thanks for the reminder! It looks so good.

Eileen said...

OK, what's that avocado trick? You are a magician!

Rachel said...

great video! have been wanting to do something with my celery. can i assume the recipe above is not the doubled amount? as in, if i double it, i will get double, not quadruple? if i get quadruple, you guys will have to come up here and have some :)
did you use beef or chicken broth? and would you recommend what you used?

Amelia Morris said...

Rachel!
1. Yes, the above is NOT the doubled amount. I doubled it (so, two stalks of celery, 2 carrots, etc.) and it made PLENTY.
2. I used chicken broth and totally recommend using that. It's a heavy flavorful sauce already so I'm not sure you really need the beef broth. PLUS, good beef broth is hard to come by.

Anyway, do it!! And tell me about the results. :)

Amelia Morris said...

I *do* know what you mean.
Thanks, Ileana!!

Katherine said...

This video MAKES ME SO HAPPY. So cheery! I have pasta with meatballs on the stove, which is the only reason I'm not stabbing my computer in a misguided attempt to get to that meat sauce, fyi.

I think I might ask for your braiser for Christmas. (To be clear: I'm not going to ask for YOURS specifically, because that would be weird. I'm going to ask for a new dish that shape. From the store.)

Carmen said...

my favorite video thus far

Emily @ Totes Delishy said...

This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. I read it and salivate. Love the idea of sage in the Bolognese and love this video. Do not love my crappy internet connection that makes watching to video like trying to read a book on a bus bouncing over pot holes.

Mary Anne said...

Exxxcellent song selection. Exxcellent lighting. Exxxcellent wardrobe (hiking outfits?). Exxxcellent man chilling on the couch. Exxxcellent friend weekend and exxcellent videooooo!!!!!

Amelia Morris said...

ha! It was actually my first time performing it. Who knew that if you pre-dice the avocado while it's in the skin and then kind of squeeze it, all of the little cubes pop out!?

Rachel said...

good point about the beef broth quality. grocery list created! (minus celery)

Heather Taylor said...

SOOOO BEAUTIFUL :)

Julie D. said...

This is kind of rando, but what kind of pot is that? A Le Creuset braiser?

Amelia Morris said...

Why, yes! It's a braiser. Totally recommend it too, one of those workhorse pans. :)

Robyn said...

As an occupational therapist who worked in a hand therapy clinic I have to let you know that we saw too many patients with major hand injuries to nerves and even tendons from cutting avocados the way you demonstrated. I love your videos, but that made me cringe! Just Google avocado hand injury, it's a thing. I enjoy your blog so much and I want you to keep safe!

Robyn said...

Sorry, I should clarify. Never ever cut an avocado while holding it in the palm of your hand. Pre-dicing is awesome, just do it on a cutting board.

Amelia Morris said...

wowwww, thanks for the info, Robyn. I'll always use a cutting board from now on, I promise!!

Marsha and Mark said...

Congratulations to Bon Appetempt being named by TIME magazine as one of the Best Blogs of 2012! A well deserved honor!

Kristen {bites & sights} said...

I love The Art of Simple Food. It's a cookbook I reference often. Love the illustration and the photos! Great job.

tori said...

Love the video- and love the fact I now have new, terrific music to work to. Clicked straight from here to itunes to buy Cat Power's latest cd. Love it. Thank you....

Anne Zimmerman said...

A) your house looks amazing! (what would happen if I invited myself over, I wonder?)
B) so what was the scoop on the sauce? I'm looking for an epic recipe to make for a dinner party in the next couple of weeks.

Unknown said...

Wooow Nice Informations Admin
The information you provide is very helpful to me :)
Good luck to you

hreeves said...

So, so cute and yummy-looking. But I'm most obsessed with your bright pink tea towel! Where's it from??

Amelia Morris said...

A) thank you!! And please, come on over!
B) the sauce is pretty epic and also pretty sweet for a large group. Definitely double it / make 6 cups. Should be enough for 6 big portions or 8 European-sized. ;)

Amelia Morris said...

Thanks! I actually DYED that tea towel myself. I know, I know. http://www.dickblick.com/products/dylon-fabric-dyes/?clickTracking=true <--Flamingo Pink. That being said, I have another hot pink tea towel I got from Heath Ceramics... don't think they still have it, but maybe??

Luisa said...

I loved this video so much. So beautiful and atmospheric, or something. Loved it.

Allison said...

Thanks for inspiring a delicious meal! The only change I made was to use prosciutto instead of pancetta in the first step. While this took a few hours to pull together, none of it was hard. Just have to keep your eye on things and stir frequently. The flavor is rich and unctuous - I particularly liked the note the sage lent to the dish. This made me feel like an Italian lady cooking Sunday Supper. Kudos for making me feel fall-like, even in LA! http://epifurious.tumblr.com/post/34280980240/alice-waters-bolognese

Joan Qualls - Tasteful Voyages said...

Made this last night for new neighbors (in my new home) and the first thing they said walking in was "it smells delicious!" which it did! Thanks for sharing this keeper recipe! It's so good my SO had it for breakfast this morning!!!

Amelia Morris said...

nice work, girl!!

Amelia Morris said...

You're a pretty cool neighbor.

;)

Katherine {eggton} said...

Scott just watched this (he loves LA and I knew he'd like this) and he said "oh WOW she just made a Manhattan and drank it at the exact moment in the song where Cat Power says Manhattan!!!!" I hadn't noticed that. Well played, Amelia, well played.

Amelia Morris said...

hahaaa! Scott noticed!!

Truth be told though, it was a bit happenstantial. (I think that's a word.)

Bleu Cheese said...

I know we're coming up on 5 years later, but I just made this last night and it's nowhere near as thick as your sauce--I simmered for 1.5 hours, so was afraid if I went any longer I'd overcook the beef. I put it in the fridge because we had something else for dinner — did you simmer yours longer, and do you think it's OK to keep going on another day and simmer it down further to get the proper consistency? I also diced my steak really really tiny and it took FOREVER--I guess I thought 1/8" meant something like a mince, but yours looks much chunkier than mine and sounds like it still turned out great! I love “The Art of Simple Food” and just about everything else I’ve made from it has been delicious, but this one threw me for a loop (maybe because I've never had bolognese before, and there was no pic--thanks for yours and your video!).

Bleu Cheese said...

I never got a reply before trying, so I thought I'd report back for posterity--it did work! I took the too-liquidy sauce out of the freezer and put it back in the same enameled dutch oven I'd used before, and simmered it down about halfway, it took about 30 minutes on half the amount (I'd made a double batch in the first place, so I just took one portion out of the freezer and left the rest for another time). Delicious!

Amelia Morris said...

@Bleu Cheese ahh sorry I never wrote you back. Really glad it worked out though! I think simmering it down was the best course of action. xoxx

Bleu Cheese said...

No worries! I know it was an old post. Thank you for it though--sometimes these posts just keep on giving! I just wanted to reply with my experience in case someone else had the same problem in the future.