Make Ahead

rustic hand-cut pappardelle with ragu' bolognese

February 18, 2014
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  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

a classic traditional pasta that me and my famiglia love for weekday meals or special holidays and celebrations. —cucina di mammina

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • ragu' bolognese
  • 16-18 ounces ground beef, pork and veal mixture
  • 6 ounces organic nitrate-free bacon or pancetta, chopped or
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2-3 large ribs celery (including leaves), chopped
  • 1-2 large garlic clove, peeled and chunked
  • 1 sweet vidalia onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 (12 oz.) cans of san marzano chopped tomatoes
  • 1 (8 oz.) can san marzano plum tomatoes (use as needed)
  • glass of white wine
  • 12 ounces container of unsalted beef stock (warm)
  • nutmeg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • anchovy paste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • unsalted organic butter
  • fresh egg pasta
  • 1 2/3 cups unbleached flour
  • 1 2/3 cups semolina flour
  • 3 organic whole eggs (room temperature)
  • 8 organic egg yolks (room temperature)
  • 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
  • dash of sea salt
  • water (if needed)
Directions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and blend well. With your mixer or by hand, add in the beaten egg yolks and whole eggs and begin to mix into the dry ingredients. Add some of the olive oil and continue mixing until the dough begins to form and come together (add the rest of the oil and some water (in small doses) if needed to get dough to form.
  2. Remove dough from bowl, sprinkle counter with flour and begin to knead the dough for approximately 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and combined evenly. Form a ball and place back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes (if cool in the home leave at room temperature; if too warm in the home; place in the refrigerator and remove 5 minutes before ready to roll out the pasta)
  3. Slice off sections and roll the dough out until you achieve thin, even sheets and set aside on prepared table covered with cloth and dusted with flour. Once all sheets are rolled out, using a large sharp knife cut the sheets into wide noodles (cut the length in half as well.) Keep the noodles approximately same width and length so they cook evenly (the key here is to have a rough "hand-cut" feel to these that add wonderful texture and visual appeal when served.)
  4. Leave the noodles to rest for about 15 minutes or so. When ready, cook the pappardelle noodles in batches, placing gently in the slow boiling salted water. Stir gently and remove the noodles as soon as they are fork tender (they will cook very quickly). Drain and place in a large wide bowl and drizzle lightly with olive oil to fend off sticking.
  5. To prepare the ragu: In a large dutch oven pot or stock pot, add some unsalted butter and a drizzle of olive oil on medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and brown until crisp and golden. Remove and set aside.
  6. Add the ground mixture of meats mixture as it cooks (you can blend the ground meat mixture in your food processor to break down the meat if you prefer a smoother consistency to your bolognese; do not over mix or it will become too soft.) Once the meat has browned and is almost cooked through, remove from the skillet and add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the carrots, celery and onion along with a garlic cloves, cut into chunks.
  7. Saute the veggies until tender and starting to lightly brown; remove the garlic pieces and discard. Add the bacon and ground meat to the skillet and blend well into the veggie mixture. Continue to cook on medium heat and add the glass of wine to deglaze and sauté. Stir well and once the wine has almost evaporated, add in the two cans of chopped tomatoes and stir in well. Place the heat on medium and allow this mixture to cook for a minute or two and then add some beef stock to loosen the mixture a bit (about half or more of the stock container.)
  8. Slowly sauté this mixture until the liquid begins to dissolve; season with salt, pepper and a about a teaspoon of nutmeg or so to taste and a small squeeze of anchovy paste. Continue cooking this until it begins to thicken (add more stock if it's too thick and not cooked well yet.)
  9. The mixture will start to thicken and hold together on a wooden spoon. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasons as you prefer. Once the mixture is thoroughly cooked down, add in the glass of milk and continue to cook down until the milk is absorbed and the remaining sauce has a lovely creamier texture. Remove from heat and store until ready to use or set aside if using immediately.

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