I Love Ragu (Not From the Jar)

I was on my own for a few days, and found myself with a pasta craving (yeah...again) and some time to devote to the sauce, so I found this recipe for Bolognese on Cooking Light. It was wonderful, the meat takes center stage in this style of pasta, where normally the tomatoes/sauce is more prominent. I loved this sauce, and after eating it for dinner two nights in a row, and lunch one day, I reserved the rest and stored it in the freezer for another day when the pasta cravings return.



Ragu Alla Bolognese with Fettuccine
Cooking Light

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
5 ounces ground veal For the meat, I used 1lb ground turkey, 1/4 lb ground sirloin
5 ounces ground pork
5 ounces ground round
1 cup dry white wine I didn't have any, so I used 1 1/4 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 bay leaf
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato puree I used about 20 oz
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley I used 1 tbsp dried parsley and 2 tsp dried basil
2 (9-ounce) packages fresh fettuccine, cooked and drained I used dried linguine
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Parsley sprigs (optional)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot; cover and cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove onion mixture from pan.

Add veal, pork, and beef to pan; cook over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add wine, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture, broth, and tomato puree; bring to a simmer. Cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Stir in milk and minced parsley; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Add pasta, and toss to coat. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.