Emilia-Romagna

Susan and Lucy had the opportunity to attend the NIAF gala once again, which honored the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.  Emilia-Romagna is a region renowned for its delectable cuisine; it has earned a reputation as the “Food Valley” of Italy. The region is celebrated for producing some of the world's culinary treasures, including Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, balsamic vinegar from Modena, and Prosciutto di Parma. Emilia-Romagna's culinary prowess extends to its seafood dishes along the Adriatic coast, where fresh catches are transformed to delectable meals. Bologna is the capital of this region, and it is where Bolognese sauce originates. This inspired Lucy to make her own sauce!

LUCY’S BOLOGNESE 

In my recipe it’s all about the meat; and several different kinds of meat.                                                                

I use ground beef, pork, veal, and pancetta. I start with a soffritto, though, using a generous blend of onions, carrots, and celery. The other ingredients are olive oil, white wine, garlic, squeezed whole tomatoes, beef bone broth, and other condiments, below. That’s it! The idea is to have a very thick, meaty dish. You can see this in the picture I took after preparing my Bolognese. Here’s my breakdown.                                                      

1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced 2 medium carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 ounces of pancetta, diced 1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup dry, white wine
1 large can of whole tomatoes. 1 cup beef bone broth
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat half the olive oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and sauté until the carrots and celery are soft (they take a little longer to soften than the other ingredients). Remove the mixture and set aside. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and heat. Then add all the meats and cook for 5 minutes over moderate to low heat, stirring often until cooked (don’t let the meat get too done). While the meat is cooking, squeeze the tomatoes so that you have texture and liquid. Add back the vegetables to the pan. Add the wine, tomato mixture, bay leaf, the broth, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Stir and cook uncovered for 1 hour over low heat. 

I like Bolognese over lots of dishes, but if I’m serving pasta, it should be penne or rigatoni. They work well with this delicious meat sauce.                                                          

Bon Appetit !