OK, FINE! So I'm not even remotely Italian-American, much less Italian.
But NYC has been home for decades now... So I'll put this meaty, mock Bolognese up against anyone's!
Several weeks ago, cool weather had finally come to Yonkers, so it seemed about time to do a freezer clear-out. What's in your freezer?
There were beef ribs and odds and ends of beef from the magazine. There was a bag of ham trimmings. There was some beef stock. Seemed to me like a perfect moment for a long-simmered meat sauce!
So, I browned the ribs in EVOO, removed them, and added chopped onions, celery, carrots... Browned the vegetables, added back the ribs along with some red wine and a few cans of tomatoes (squished carefully by hand), and let the whole mess simmer for over an hour. Then I fished out the ribs and removed the meat (adding the bones back - because I'm greedy!).
Here's where I make a hard right turn towards Geek: I took the meat from the ribs, along with the mystery pieces of beef from the magazine, and ran them through the meat grinder. I set the ground meat aside.
I tossed some herbs (sage, basil, rosemary) into the sauce. Then I added about 1C milk and continued to simmer... for about an hour. Then I added the ground beef.
Meanwhile, I took all of the ham scraps - fat, bone, skin, etc. - and made a sort of broth... just by simmering it all in water. Then, whenever the sauce got too thick, I stirred in some ham broth. Not remotely traditional (though pork is) but reeeeally tasty.
Always, taste as you go... Add salt and pepper... More herbs if you want... But this sauce will remind you forcefully that a real ragu is a meat sauce flavored with tomato... Not the other way around! And wicked good on a little farfalle!
Next: Bolognese Pizza!
Yes, really! I've been using this remarkable meat sauce in myriad ways over the past two weeks. Tonight I wanted a pizza. Ergo...
I sautéed some hot Italian sausage. I added the Bolognese. After it cooled a bit, I spread it on some pizza dough...
...spread a small amount of mozzarella on top, and baked it in the usual way.
Wow.
Real sauce beats ersatz any day.