Bolognese Sauce with Spaghetti

Probably the first question that comes to your head is "What the heck is bolognese sause?" What it is essentially is a meat sauce which most people refer to as spaghetti sauce which doesn't make a whole lot of sense because spaghetti is a form of noodle. I mean nobody says they are making penne sauce for dinner. However I have been calling it spaghetti sauce for years and it's hard calling it anything else. I guess I am just letting you know.

This is one of those recipes I have been working on for years. My Mom showed me how to make it way back in the day and it was one of the only recipes that I actually remembered. I used to combine all the ingredients in a crock pot all day and call it good. It has evolved into this recipe that I am very happy with. The meat gets mashed to it comes out very smooth and silky and the roasted vegetables and red wine give it a deep, robust flavor.

Now you can serve this with just about any noodle on the planet I used spaghetti. You can save the left over sauce and make a zitti which is a baked noodle dish. Recipe to come later. Also experiment with the red wine I used what Alton Brown recommends which is a blended red wine. You can also use Italian sausage instead of ground pork if you want plus you can use leaner ground beef than what I used.

As always let me know what you think and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Ingredients
- 10 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 12 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 10 cloves garlic, paper removed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef 77/23
- 2 cups red wine, divided
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 28 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 pound button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup fresh parmesan reggiano cheese plus more for garnish
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 3 - 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- noodles for serving

The Process
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the carrots, celery, onions and garlic cloves in a roasting pan and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 45 minutes or until carrots are soft, stirring about every 5 - 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool for 20 minutes. In a food processor or blender, place half of the veggies and 1/4 cup of the red wine and puree until smooth. Repeat for the other half and place in a bowl until needed.
2. In a large pot over medium temperature, heat the remaining table spoon of olive oil. Add pepper flakes, beef, pork and vegetable puree to the pot. Using a potato masher, mash all the meat and vegetables together until mixed well. Continue this method until you start to see the fat from the meat render out. When this happens add the remaining 1.5 cups of red wine and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes stirring now with a regular spoon.
3. Add the 2 cans of tomatoes, mushrooms, oregani, basil, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, sugar and pepper then stir well to combine. Then add 3 tablespoons of salt and test to see if it's necessary to add the last one. Stir well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for an additional 45 minutes to an hour.
4. During the last 15 minutes add noodles to salted, oiled water and cook until al dente. When the noodles begin to boil turn off your sauce. After you have drained the noodles return them to the heat with one ladle full of sauce and stir to combine. The evenly coated, turn off the stove and get ready to plate.
5. In the middle of a plate or bowl - plate, add the noodles then cover with 1 - 2 ladles of sauce. Sprinkle some parmesan reggiano on top and serve with some garlic bread.
6. Enjoy!