Sugo Alla Bolognese and other Wintry Wonders
"When you hear the cuisine of Bologna mentioned, bow to it," Pellegrino Artusi says in his The Science of Cookery and the Art of Eating Well. He's right: It's one of the most refined and mouthwatering of Italy's regional cuisines, with heavenly desserts and wonderful entrees. However, it really comes into its own with pasta: tortellini, which supposedly owe their shape to a vision a Bolognese innkeeper had of Venus's navel, and Sugo alla Bolognese, the rich meat sauce that helps keep winter's chill at bay, are just the tip of an iceberg.
Of the two, tortellini are certainly more festive, in large part because they require a fair amount of time to make. Sugo alla Bolognese, on the other hand, just requires a low flame for simmering (which helps warm the kitchen during the winter), and is ubiquitous throughout northern and central Italy, where it is usually just called sugo. If you learn how to make it well, you may grow old, ugly, even doddering, but you'll never lack for company.
Artusi suggests that it be served with a thick walled pasta such as penne (ziti), which will absorb some of the sauce. Gnocchi di patate topped with sugo are mouth watering too, and it goes wonderfully in lasagne al forno (interlayered with pasta, bèchamel sauce, and grated Parmigiano).
Sugo Alla Bolognese
- 6 to 8 ounces ground beef - it shouldn't be too lean, or the sugo will be dry
- 2 ounces pancetta, minced (optional)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- A quarter of a medium-sized onion, minced
- A half a carrot, minced
- A six inch stalk of celery, minced
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 3/4 cup crushed tomatoes or 2 tablespoons tomato paste dissolved in 1/2 cup water
- Beef broth (If you don't have any, dissolve half a bullion cube in a cup of boiling water)
- A pinch of salt
- Pepper
- A pound of pasta.
- Grated Parmigiano.
If you omit the pancetta, you will want the full 8 ounces of meat.
This sauce invites improvisation. For example, you may wish to add a few chopped dried porcini (soak them in boiling water first, and strain and add the liquid as well), or a minced chicken liver to the sauce while it's simmering. Some cooks use the meat from a link sausage instead of pancetta, whereas others omit the pork entirely, using more beef. If you use more pork the sauce will taste sweeter. Artusi suggests that you may want to stir half a cup of whipping cream into it just before you pour it over the pasta.
In any case, assuming you are using the pancetta, mince it and the vegetables, and sauté them in a casserole or Dutch oven with the oil. When the onion's translucent, add the ground meat and continue cooking till it's browned. Stir in the wine and let the sauce simmer till the wine's evaporated, then add the tomatoes, a ladle of broth, and check the seasoning. Continue simmering over a very low flame for about two hours, stirring occasionally, and adding more broth if the sugo looks like it's drying out. The sugo will improve steadily as it cooks, and if you have the time simmer it longer - Artusi suggests it be simmered for six hours, adding boiling water or broth as necessary. When it is done it should be rich and thick.
This will serve about six as the topping for a first course of pasta or gnocchi, or about four if served over pasta with a tossed salad on the side; in either case serve it with grated Parmigiano. In terms of a wine I'd suggest a relatively light red such as a Chianti Colli Fiorentini.
This recipe expands well, and if you double or triple it, using some and freezing the rest, you will have taken care of several meals.
A Variation: one of my mother-in-law's most spectacularly good Sunday dinner dishes is bracioline al sugo, cutlets in sauce. Make the sauce with 3/4 of a pound of ground meat, adjusting the other ingredients accordingly, and buy a pound of thinly sliced cutlets as well - they needn't be an expensive cut - ask your butcher to cut some 1/4 inch slices from the rump or the round. Add them when you add the ground beef, and cook the sugo as you normally would. Serve paste al sugo as a first course, and the cutlets as a second course, with boiled spinach that's been reheated by tossing in a pan with a quarter cup of olive oil and a minced clove of garlic. If you want to try something even better, substitute ossibuchi for the cutlets. Figure one ossobuco per diner, and remember to snip the fatty membranes around the ossibuchi in a couple of places or they will shrink and the ossibuchi will curl. Simmer the sauce until the ossibuchi are tender, about three hours.
Of course, Sugo alla Bolognese is not the only sugo made in Italy throughout the winter months. Sugo di maiale, pork sauce, is quite nice, as are sugo di vitello, veal sauce, and sugo d'agnello, lamb sauce. Though they do require some cooking time, you can easily expand them and freeze some for later.
Sugo di Maiale - Pork Sauce
This is a rarity, an Italian recipe that calls for pancetta affumicata, which is essentially bacon. Try to select a piece of bacon that has no sugar added.
- 1/2 pound pork loin
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- A small onion, a small carrot, and a 3-inch rib of celery
- Sage (5-6 leaves)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 ounces bacon (see note above)
- Powdered cinnamon
- 1/3 cup tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon flour, diluted in 3/4 cup boiling water
- Salt
- Pepper
- 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano
- 3/4 pound short pasta such as penne or ziti.
Wash and dice the onion, celery and carrot, dice the pork to pieces the same size, and mince the sage. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot, stir in the greens and sage, and simmer them until the pieces of onion are lightly browned. Add the diced meat, sauté, stirring, until it has browned, season the mixture lightly with salt and pepper, add the white wine, and reduce to a simmer. While the wine is evaporating julienne the bacon. When the wine is almost completely gone stir in the bacon, a pinch of powdered cinnamon, the tomato sauce, and the boiling water-flour mixture. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water if need be to keep the sauce from drying out.
About a half hour before it's done heat the pasta water; cook and drain the pasta, pour the sauce over it, and serve with the grated Parmigiano. This is quite substantial and will be sufficient for four if served with a tossed salad.
As is true for Artusi's Sugo, you can expand this recipe and freeze some for later.
Orecchiette al Vitello - Orecchiette with Veal
A southern specialty, from Puglia.
- 1 1/4 pounds veal
- 1 medium onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- About 2 teaspoons fennel seeds (to taste, really)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 pound canned plum tomatoes
- 2 bullion cubes
- The grated zest of a lemon
- A half-inch piece of hot red pepper
- Nutmeg
- Grated Pecorino
- Salt
- 1 pound orecchiette, a Puglian type of pasta whose shape resembles that of an ear (hence the name, from orecchio). Substitute a short pasta, such as farfalle (butterflies).
Finely dice the veal. Mince the onion and the garlic, and mince the garlic. Mash the fennel seeds in a mortar, or blend them. Heat the oil in a broad pot and sauté the minced onion and the fennel seeds; when the onions have begun to brown stir in the meat as well and continue cooking until it has browned. Stir in the wine, reduce the heat to a simmer. Meanwhile, drain and crush the tomatoes; stir them in once the wine has evaporated. Mince the red pepper, crumble the bullion cubes, and mix them with the grated lemon zest and a pinch of nutmeg; stir this mixture into the sauce, and simmer it for about a half hour.
In the meantime bring water to boil and cook the pasta; when it is done pour the sauce over it and serve, with the grated Pecorino. This is again quite hearty, and will serve four with a tossed salad? The wine? I would suggest something along the lines of a Castel del Monte Rosso, for Example Rivera's, or a Rosso del Salentino.
As is true for Artusi's Sugo, you can expand this recipe and freeze some for later.
Tagliatelle con Ragu d'Agnello - Tagliatelle with Lamb Ragu
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 medium-sized onion
- A 4-inch stick celery
- A 3-inch piece carrot
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 ounce Pancetta
- 1 large clove garlic
- 4 leaves sage
- The leaves from a 3-inch sprig of rosemary
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound canned plum tomatoes, put through a food mill
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 bullion cube
- Pepper
- 1 pound tagliatelle, fettuccine, linguine, or similarly shaped egg pasta.
- 3/4 cup grated Pecorino
Dice finely the onion, carrot, and celery, and set them in a pot. Mince the garlic, sage and rosemary leaves, dice the pancetta, and add them to the vegetable mixture with the oil and the butter. Gently sauté the mixture for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally; do not let it brown. Add the ground lamb and increase the flame; brown it for about 5 minutes. Stir in the wine and continue cooking over a lively flame; when it is almost completely evaporated sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of flour, stirring to keep lumps from forming, then stir in the tomatoes and water, and crumble in the bullion cube into the sauce. Season lightly with pepper, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a slow simmer, cover, and cook for at least an hour and a half, adding more hot water if necessary to keep the sauce from drying out.
When it is almost done, boil water for the pasta. Stir the sauce into the pasta and serve it with the grated Pecorino. As a 1-course meal with a tossed salad this will serve 4; I'd suggest an Aglianico del Vulture or Mastroberardino's Mastro Rosso, a light Campanian interpretation of the grape.
As is true for Artusi's Sugo, you can expand this recipe and freeze some for later.
Good Food &
Drink,
Kyle
