Bolognese

Inspired by Chris Bianco - Phoenix, AZ

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I loved the chicken cacciatore last week and have since stayed in the mood for more Italian. One thing lacking on here is a good pasta dish and Bolognese sauce is a hearty favorite of mine. However, I should mention that while I do imitate quite a few recipes on here, I do always try to add my own flair based on taste or availability of ingredients. Of everything I’ve made, Bolognese probably has the greatest versatility I’ve seen. Through my research I found several recipes, all with their own version of this amazing sauce and I decided to pick and choose based on what I felt would be good. Because of this, my Bolognese probably looks the furthest away from Chris Bianco’s version when compared to many of my other imitations. You can check out my notes to see where things were changed and can then make your own decisions on what you want for you.

Parts of this recipe were adapted from Chris Bianco’s recipe for “Pappardelle Bolognese” from his cookbook Bianco. He owns a pizzeria in Phoenix under the same name. It’s embarrassingly good. As is this homemade version made with rigatoni.

INGREDIENTS

RIGATONI BOLOGNESE (Serves 4 to 6):

  • ⅓ cup olive oil

  • 3 TBS unsalted butter

  • ½ lb ground beef

  • ¼ lb pancetta

  • 1 medium carrot, processed or finely chopped (see notes)

  • 1 medium yellow onion, processed or finely chopped (see notes)

  • 1 celery stalk, processed or finely chopped (see notes)

  • 2 bay leaves

  • ¾ cup red wine (chianti or sangiovese)

  • 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes

  • ½ cup milk

  • 1 cup chicken stock

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 1 lb rigatoni pasta

  • Parmigiano-Reggiano (for serving)

  • Basil or Parsley, chopped (for serving)

GO FOR IT

RIGATONI BOLOGNESE:

  1. Using a dutch oven or large sauce pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until it just begins to foam

  2. Add ground beef and pancetta, stirring with a wooden spoon to separate and brown until no more pink is showing

  3. Add in carrot, onion, celery, and bay leaves and stir in, scrapping any brown bit from the side of the pan until vegetables are soft and translucent (no more than 10 minutes)

  4. Add the wine and stir to deglaze until all the wine cooks off

  5. Add crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, and milk and stir well to combine

  6. Bring sauce to a low simmer and cool for 1 ½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, and tasting for salt and pepper until the sauce achieves a consistent flavor

  7. Before sauce is done, cook your rigatoni to the package specifications

  8. Add rigatoni directly to Bolognese sauce and stir in, adding pasta water to loosen the sauce if it appears too thick (you can also add a bit more butter if desired)

  9. Serve hot and top with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped basil or parsley

NOTES:

First and foremost, I did do something Chris Bianco mentioned that I know not everyone will be able to do. Chris puts the carrot, celery, and onion through a meat grinder just as he does the meat. He does say that since most people probably can’t do that, too just chop everything finely. However, I just so happen to have a meat grinder so I did that and it was great. I also ground the pancetta which was cut into cubes in it’s packaging. All this grinding will make for a very smooth, yet thick sauce. However, if you want things a bit chunkier then dice everything. However, lacking a meat grinder, I’ve seen several recipes advise using a food processor to achieve a similar consistency.

Chris also does not use milk or chicken stock. His is probably the only recipe I saw that didn’t use milk but I decided to go with it for a bit more creaminess. You can even add up to a cup based on many of the recipes I found but instead I decided to use some of my fresh batch of homemade chicken stock instead and it did not disappoint. You can also use a dry white wine too if you prefer those flavor profiles over the reds. My research was very split on which is best so do what you want.

Chris also uses pappardelle instead of rigatoni. But I like rigatoni better for a thick sauce. I want my pasta to scoop up all that saucy goodness within various nooks and crannies. However, you can definitely just use whatever pasta is your favorite and be totally fine.