Unlike North American spaghetti sauce, traditional Bolognese includes only a very little bit of tomato, no oregano and lots of wine and milk (I know, milk?!). It is so outrageously delicious that when I first tasted it in Italy, I pretty well fell off my chair. Happily, homemade Bolognese is easy, but it does take some simmering time. Good thing it freezes like a charm! Get my whole list of best and worst foods to freeze here, plus best practices for keeping frozen foods fresh and safe, so you never waste time and money freezing the wrong things. And if you’re looking for the ultimate way to use this sauce, check out my Ultimate Lasagna, here.
Makes enough for about 15 portions.
INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp butter
2 onions, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, very finely chopped
2 carrots, very finely chopped
1 kg (2.2 lb.) lean ground beef
450 g (1 lb.) ground pork or veal
2 cups whole milk
1 – 2 796 mL/ 28 oz cans whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 1⁄2 cups dry white wine
2 156-ml/5-oz. cans cans tomato paste
1 1⁄2 tsp salt
Piece of fresh whole nutmeg (optional)
METHOD:
Melt the butter in a very large, wide, deep pot over medium high.
Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, about 7 minutes.
Add the beef and pork and cook, stirring often, until the meat is halfway cooked, about 5 minutes.
Add the milk and bring to a boil (the mixture will look all wrong at this point but don’t worry!). Simmer for
about 8 minutes, stirring to break the meat up into very small bits.
Add the crushed whole tomatoes, wine, tomato paste and salt and about 10 gratings of nutmeg. Stir
thoroughly.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the mixture simmers very gently (just a few bubbles popping on the surface every second).
Simmer like this, stirring every now and then, for 1 hour, or until the sauce is deep red and very thick.
Cool completely, then package into 2-cup portions in freezer bags.
Pat down the bags so they lie flat (this speeds up freezing and thawing) and freeze for up to 2 months.
To use, thaw in the fridge overnight then gently reheat with a splash of water and bring to a simmer.
Love your freezer? Check out my Freezer Masterclass, plus my live freezer-stocking cooking “prepshops” here. Harrowsmith readers can use promo code HS40 for a discount!
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Claire Tansey is Canada’s Master of Mealtime. She is the author of national bestsellers Dinner, Uncomplicated and Uncomplicated. She’s been in the food business for over 20 years; along the way she sang lead in a rock band, got a master’s degree and was Food Director of Chatelaine. Claire is a guest expert on Cityline and CBC Radio and she runs a virtual cooking school where she inspires home cooks with easy, delicious recipes.
Originally from Montreal, Claire lives in Toronto with her partner, Michael, who eats everything and their son, Thomas, who does not.
