As you’ve probably picked up on, I’ve been cooking a lot here in Mendoza. Although my kitchen has but two burners, no oven, and virtually no counter space, I’ve been making the best of it and trying to satisfy my exotic food cravings as best as I can given the circumstances.

One of my culinary specialties, if you will, is the recipe for Ragu Bolognese that I picked up while living in its namesake town. Midway through my year in Bologna, my food-obsessed friends and I went on a mission to the central market. The goal: figure out how to make Bolognese like the locals do! We pranced around for an hour or so in that heavenly place, buying an ingredient or so at each stand and saying ‘e lei, signore, lei come fa il Bolognese?‘ (And you, sir [or madame], how do you make your Bolognese?)

By the end of the day, we had put all of the pieces together to come up with our own ‘classic’ recipe. It’s since traveled around the world by word of mouth (or gchat) - I myself having made it now on three continents and left the recipe behind on each, with new tweaks each time. I made my first Argentine Bolognese a couple of months ago, and while it was certainly yummy, I’ve spent the intervening period plotting my improvements. Recently several friends back home have asked for the recipe, and that inspired me to recreate it this past weekend with perhaps the most thundering success ever.

As I’ve also spent a great deal of time the last few weeks (altogether too much time, really) editing some wonderful but complex recipes that were created as pairings for the upcoming Autumn Acequia Wine Club selections from The Vines of Mendoza, I thought I’d try my hand at writing this one down for the first time ever in comprehensive written form. Those of you who have cooked with me know that I’m not much for measurements, but I think I’ve finally got this one straight!

And now, with no further ado, Bolognese al Aaron.

Overview:

The general idea with ragu is to chop everything into pieces so small that after several hours simmering together, the flavor and texture of the ingredients have fused into one. It is time consuming but not difficult to make; it’s much more fun if you have a friend around or a movie to watch.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not really a red sauce. The tomatoes add some color and some juice – most importantly they provide the liquid that together with the white wine will prevent this sauce from turning into meatloaf. The wine will also impart some zing to the sauce, some acidity and lightness. My advice is to use a moderately priced, unoaked white, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. Chardonnay and Riesling tend too much towards the sweeter side, and aromatic wines like Torrontes and Viognier lack the brightness I’m going for.

This recipe makes a lot of sauce, and will feed 8 or so. But it also reheats better than just about anything – I usually freeze half the sauce right away. For the leftovers, just thaw, and then add a bit more wine (or water) and simmer on low heat for 20 - 30 minutes. Serve with a fresh batch of pasta and it’ll be at least as good as the first time around. (If doing this remember to cook only 1 pound (500 grams) of pasta each time you serve it).

Note: I’ve said to mince most of the ingredients - if you have a food processor you can save yourself a lot of time, energy, and cleanup. But be sure to use the pulse function - you want to chop the vegetables, not juice them!

As far as wine pairings, I find that the best companion for this Bolognese is your favorite medium-bodied red. You’ll want something with a nice acidity, and maybe a touch of earthiness - I enjoy a wine on the more ‘rustic’ side. The easy (and traditional) answer for those of you in the US or Europe is a Sangiovese from the Emilia Romagna region that surrounds Bologna, and Tuscan reds are also great companions to this dish: Chianti, Rosso di Montalcino (or Montepulciano), maybe a Brunello if you feel like splurging. Down here in South America my advice is to lean more towards Cabernet (Sauvignon or Franc) than Malbec - you’ll want something on the drier side and without the characteristic spice of Malbec.

Whatever you choose, enjoy! And be sure to let me know how it works out for you.

Ingredients:

• 5 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 2 medium sized onions, minced
• 2 medium sized carrots, minced
• 5 celery stalks, minced
• 2 small chili peppers, minced (optional)
• 1 pound (500 grams) ground beef
• 1/2 pound (250 grams) sweet sausage
• 1/2 pound (250 grams) spicy sausage (or smoked, if you can’t find spicy)
• 2 pints (500 grams?) cherry tomatoes
• 1 bottle dry white wine - with no oak!
• Salt and pepper - to taste
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (at least)
• 2 pounds (1 kilogram) dried pasta - (I prefer oriecchiette or farfalle although it’s traditional to serve with fresh meat tortellini)
• Parmigiano Reggiono cheese, grated, to taste
• Fresh basil, to taste

Preparation:

• Assemble and clean garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and chilis. Chop as small as you have the patience for (or use the food processor for each ingredient). Place in large pot, douse thoroughly with olive oil, and set aside.
• Wash cherry tomatoes and set aside.
• Remove skin from sausage and set aside.

Cooking:

• Cook vegetables for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add ground beef and sausage to pot, and mash up into pieces as small as you can. Mix well with vegetables, stirring (and mashing) for about 5 minutes.
• Add cherry tomatoes to pot, with ½ bottle of white wine. Stir.

Now, really, your work is done. Allow the sauce to cook on a low heat for approximately 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more wine every 15 minutes or so - as it evaporates you want to make sure that there is always some liquid in the sauce. The tomatoes will boil down and the wine will reduce, while burning off most of its alcohol content.

When the sauce is almost ready, fill another large pot ¾ of the way with water, add 1 Tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil on high temperature. (The salt, besides adding a hint of flavor, will allow the water to boil at a higher temperature and cook the pasta more quickly and more thoroughly). Toss in pasta and boil pasta until VERY al dente - 7 minutes or so.

• Strain pasta and mix into sauce, with the heat still on low. Cook together, stirring constantly, for another 5 minutes.
• Add some Parmigiano Reggiano, to taste.

Serving:

• Serve pasta in shallow bowls. Top with more Parmigiano and several leaves of basil.
• Say “Buon Appetito!” and sit back.
• Listen to your guests moan with delight.

For something really out there and extraordinarily tasty, follow the same recipe as above but replace beef and sausage with whole calamari, chopped as finely as possible. This will give you a “Calamari Ragu” that may very well change your life.

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On another note entirely, this evening I am headed stateside for a Bat Mitzvah this weekend and a quick dose of friends and family. I don’t think I’ll be eating too much Bolognese, however… I’m itching for some Thai curry and real Italian pizza! I will be boogying down next Friday night (9/26) at an as-yet-unspecified location in Brooklyn - let me know if you can come by for a drink!

September 17th, 2008 | gastronomia