Bolognese

 Its got a funny name, but its been called many things. A lot of people call it ragout. I like a dish like this because there is not a lot of sauce and you taste more of the individual ingredients in the dish. Pappardelle is a wide fat noodle. It can be substituted with any form of pasta in this dish.

1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 slices of thick cut bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 lb ground veal
1 lb ground pork
1 cup dry red wine
2 bay leafs
2- 14 oz cans of beef broth
1 1/2 cup canned tomato puree, or about 3 tomatoes blended
1 lb pappardelle or mafaldine pasta
Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese

 Heat oil in heavy large pot over med-high heat. Add bacon, saute until beginning to brown about 6 min.  Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic and thyme; saute 5 minutes. Make sure to add the garlic at the end so it does not burn. Add veal and pork, saute until brown and cooked through. Break up the meat with a fork. It takes about 10 minutes. Add wine and bay leaves. Simmer until liquid is slightly reduces about 10 min. Add broth and tomato puree. Reduce heat to med-low, simmer until sauce thickens, stirring often. It takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Boil pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water.

If it is fresh pasta, it wont take long to cook, but the water should be boiling and very salty. It if is packaged pasta. cook according to directions.
Meat can be made one day ahead of time and you can substitute veal for ground beef.

Happy Eating