Bolognese Sauce
Marcella Hazan's Bolognese builds slowly: beef, milk, wine, then tomatoes, each given time to disappear into the pot. Three hours later, the sauce is rich without being remotely heavy.
Method
Add the oil, 3 tablespoons of butter, and the onion to a pot, then set it over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the onion turns translucent. Add the celery and carrot and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring until the vegetables are glossed with the fat.
Add the beef with a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Break it apart with a fork and cook, stirring well, until no raw red meat remains.
Pour in the milk and let it simmer gently, stirring often, until it has cooked away completely. Grate in a tiny amount of nutmeg — about ⅛ teaspoon — and stir.
Add the wine and simmer until it has evaporated. Add the tomatoes and their juice and stir thoroughly. Once they begin to bubble, turn the heat down until the sauce is barely simmering, with only an occasional bubble breaking the surface. Cook uncovered for at least 3 hours, stirring from time to time. If the sauce starts to dry out or stick, add ½ cup of water as needed. By the end, the water should be gone and the fat should have separated from the meat. Stir the fat back in, taste, and correct the salt.
Cook and drain the pasta. Toss it with the sauce and the remaining tablespoon of butter, then serve with Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table.
Notes from the line
Milk goes in before wine, and both cook away before the tomatoes arrive. The order is doing work here.
The sauce is done when there is no water left and the fat has separated. Stir it back in; do not drain it.
Adapted from Marcella Hazan via NYT Cooking. Headnote and method rewritten for Dad Made.