So living in Bologna those last years of vet school a side hobby was trying to perfect the local cucina icon of sugo Bolognese. This is a meat sauce with the freshest ingredients from the garden and a great way to add that half bottle of red wine from the night before into the picture. A good grape is never wasted you know. Maybe step out of the Italian box and start with this southeast US sleeper of Chateau Morriset Petit Verdot like I did today while firing up the sugo.
This bottle even has a dog on the bottle so we vets have to at least try it. So my associate and book partner Dr. Johanna Frank bought this for me and yes, like you, I was skeptical and asked, “Red wine from the blue ridge mountains of Virginia?” I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. Even Trader Joes olive oil is a solid necessity if you are keeping your kitchen away from your pocketbook.
Bolognese Sauce Ingredients
- 1 pound medium lean high quality ground beef
- 1 pound high quality ground pork
- About 20 red ripe roman tomatoes, equivalent of grape tomatoes or 3-4 packages of “Pomi” tomato sauce.
- Handful each of fresh basil, chopped baby carrots, celery, and 1 small ripe yellow onion.
- Sea salt
- Olive oil
- ½ to ¾ bottle of medium bodied red wine, a good Sangiovese or what was left from last night would be perfect.
Start with a large pot, a few circles of olive oil, a couple of handfuls of chopped baby carrots, celery and onions from a small ripe yellow onion.
Simmer medium heat until starting to brown, Then, add a bout a pound of the best semi-lean ground beef of the highest quality and same for ground pork.
Simmer low/medium heat til browned. Add ½ to ¾ bottle of full-bodied red wine. A good Sangiovese works well such as Tenuta di Castiglione (link to wine recs Tenuta di Castiglione Frescobaldi second from bottom above the tokai) if you have any left from the night before.
Simmer medium heat till the sauce is reduced well.
Then add sliced freshest red roman or grape tomatoes or if you have to use tomato pure there is really only 1 choice in the US to find…. “Pomi” brand which no additives and the tomatoes come straight from southern Italy near Vesuvius volcano.
Then add sliced freshest red roman or grape tomatoes or if you have to use tomato pure there is really only 1 choice in the US to find…. “Pomi” brand which no additives and the tomatoes come straight from southern Italy near Vesuvius volcano.
Add a handful of fresh basil and sea salt. Simmer low medium heat stirring occasionally and do so for about 3-4 hours until the spoon stands on its own.
Let the sauce sit and it is even better the day after as the aromas just sink into the sauce and firm up. So maybe make this sugo on a Saturday for a Sunday lunch. Pour over your favorite past or use in a lasagna. Fresh pasta is best with this such as Gnocchi a la Bolognese.
Drink with a Brunello di Montalcino or go for Southern sleeper big red with Taurasi from Mastroberardino in Avvellino, Italy. Taurasi costs about $20 less than a Brunello but just as solid and potentially, dare I say, even more reliable as a big red wine year to year. OMG! Dante Alighieri just rolled over after I said that…
Regardless, breathe either reds out for a couple hours. Big sauce needs a big red wine to accompany it. This particular bottle we drank at Anime e Cozze in Napoli a couple of years ago. More to come on that trip.
