Culina Adventum: Classic Bolognese Ragu

Okay, so, this is getting a little out of control... Do I have more than one pot? Yes. But, I can't seem to break out... It's probably due to the winter weather, I would guess. Hearty, one-pot meals have been keeping me going.

WARNING! Though this recipe is very easy, it takes longer than you think! Start cooking this sauce sometime before noon. It is absolutely necessary that it simmer for a minimum of three hours. It is not the same, otherwise. Also, this is a big batch because I like to freeze the sauce for future use. Of course, you can cut everything in half to reduce the size.

Some other notes to consider before beginning:

**The fattier the ground beef, the better (of course).
**Add salt immediately when you put the beef in the pot to extract the juices.
**Use whole milk, it's the only way to go. It protects the beef from the acid in the wine.
**Make sure the white wine is dry.
**This should be a very thick, very meaty sauce. It is not a marinara. It should not be full of tomato sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

3 tbsp olive oil
8 tbsp butter
1 cup of yellow onion (diced very fine)
1 1/2 cup celery (diced very fine)
1 1/2 cup carrot (diced very fine)
2 lbs. ground beef (make sure you get the best quality possible)
2 cups of whole milk
1 1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups Italian plum tomatoes, finely diced, with their juice
nutmeg
salt and black pepper
parmigiano reggiano cheese (Parmesan)

*I use the food processor to chop the onion, celery, and carrots, but this is not necessary. You just want to get the pieces very small.

Let's begin! Put the oil, 6 tbsp of butter, and the onion in a large pot. Turn the heat to med. and cook the onions slowly until they are translucent. Add the celery and carrot and cook for another two or three minutes.

Add the beef and two large pinches of salt and several large grindings of black pepper (or about 1 tsp). DO NOT TURN UP THE HEAT. You want to brown the beef very slowly, DO NOT SEAR THE MEAT. It must cook slowly until it is not longer red. Stir and chop the meat as it browns to break it into small pieces and combine it with the veggies.

Add the milk and mix well. Let it simmer until all the liquid has been cooked off. Stir frequently. It will probably take at least 15 minutes until the liquid is gone. Then add a grating of nutmeg (about 1/8 tsp) and stir well.

Add the wine and let it simmer, once again, until all the liquid has been cooked off. Then add the tomatoes and stir it up so it is evenly mixed through. Turn down the heat as low as possible. You may need to move it to a smaller burner. It should simmer, tiny, tiny bubbles (very, very low simmer), for at least 3 hours. Stir every 15 minutes or so. If the sauce gets too thick, add 1/2 cup of water and keep cooking. The fat should separate and float on the top. This is good. Do not remove the fat.