Fettuccini Bolognese Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 ounces pancetta, finely diced
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup dry red wine (like Chianti)
• 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound Fettuccini
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Start the Soffritto

In a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.

Add the diced pancetta and cook until it has rendered its fat and is lightly crisped, about 5 minutes.

Add the onion, celery, and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Add the Meat and Milk

Add the ground beef and ground pork to the pot. Break it up with a spoon and season with the salt. Cook until the meat has lost its raw color but is not browned.

Pour in the milk. Bring it to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the milk has completely evaporated. You’ll be left with just clear fat in the bottom of the pot. This step tenderizes the meat.

Add a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg to the pot.

Add the Wine and Tomatoes

Pour in the red wine. Let it simmer, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot, until it has also completely evaporated.

Add the hand-crushed tomatoes and the bay leaf. Stir everything together.

The Long Simmer

Once the sauce begins to bubble, reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. You want the barest of simmers, with just a bubble or two breaking the surface every few seconds.

Cook, uncovered, for at least 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. If the sauce becomes too thick and starts to stick, add a splash of water. By the end, the sauce should be thick, and the fat will have separated and pooled on the surface.

Remove the bay leaf and taste the sauce, adjusting for salt if needed.

Serve with Pasta

When you’re ready to eat, cook the pappardelle in a large pot of heavily salted water until al dente.

Drain the pasta, reserving about a cup of the pasta water.

Toss the hot pasta directly with a few large spoonfuls of the bolognese sauce, adding a splash of pasta water if needed to help the sauce coat the noodles.

Serve immediately with a generous amount of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.