Real Italian Bolognese Sauce

Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1/4 lb bacon
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 1 stalk celery (finely chopped)
• 1 large carrot (finely chopped)
• 1 (2 teaspoon) jar garlic or 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 4 tablespoons butter or 4 tablespoons margarine
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2-3/4 lb ground lamb
• 1 (8 ounce) can beef consomme
• 1 cup dry wine
• 1 (28 ounce) can s&w italian style crushed tomatoes (or other)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 -1 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup milk (i use 2%)
• 1 lb small penne pasta

Recipe

• 1 in a dutch oven or medium size pot, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until butter begins to froth.
• 2 add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and bacon.
• 3 cook until onions are translucent (about 8 to 10 minutes).
• 4 remove bacon and remove fat.
• 5 chop lean portions of bacon in small pieces and return to pot.
• 6 add ground beef and ground lamb, and cook until meat loses red, raw color.
• 7 raise heat and add wine and consomme.
• 8 cook sauce until wine and consomme are mostly evaporated.
• 9 turn heat down to simmer and add oregano, salt, pepper, sage, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg.
• 10 let cook for approximately 20 minutes.
• 11 add crushed tomatoes and bring heat to a boil.
• 12 once the mixture comes to a boil, return to simmer.
• 13 let sauce simmer (very slowly) partially covered for about 2 to 4 hours (the longer the better), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• 14 about 5 to 10 minutes before serving, add milk.
• 15 sauce can now be added to cooked penne pasta, spaghetti or many other pastas to your liking.
• 16 remaining sauce may be frozen for up to two months for future use.