| | | | | | |

Rigatoni with Slow-Simmered Bolognese Sauce

Rigatoni with Slow-Simmered Bolognese Sauce

I am so thankful it has finally started to cool down and sprinkle some rain here in Oregon – we sure could use it! I woke up today craving some comfort food so I decided to look through some of my favorite cookbooks to find some ideas. I found an America’s Test Kitchen recipe for this rigatoni with slow-simmered bolognese sauce that sounded amazing. The sauce takes four hours to prepare so make this recipe on a day you don’t have to rush. I adapted the recipe just a bit by using only beef & pork instead of equal parts beef, veal, and pork. The house smelled incredible and I loved the whole process of cooking this recipe. I served the rigatoni with freshly baked bread and a tossed salad for a delicious meal my family really enjoyed.

Rigatoni with Slow-Simmered Bolognese Sauce

How to Make Rigatoni with Slow-Simmered Bolognese Sauce

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery then cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes.

Add the ground beef and ground pork then season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes; crumble the meat into tiny pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook, continuing to crumble the meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not browned, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.

Add the milk and simmer, stirring often, until the milk evaporates and only rendered fat remains, about 15 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, stirring often, until the wine evaporates, about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice and bring to a simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 hours. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Cook the rigatoni in salted boiling water, per package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

Add the cooked/drained pasta to the sauce and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter; toss to coat evenly. Adjust the consistency of the sauce with some of the reserved pasta cooking water as needed. Serve immediately with parmesan on the side. Enjoy!

Rigatoni with Slow-Simmered Bolognese Sauce

 

Rigatoni with Slow-Simmered Bolognese Sauce

Rigatoni with Slow-Simmered Bolognese Sauce

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 8
Author: Pam - For the Love of Cooking / Original by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp butter divided
  • 2 tbsp sweet yellow onion minced
  • 2 tbsp carrot minced
  • 2 tbsp celery minced
  • ½ lb ground beef 85/15 (or 80/20 if you can)
  • ¼ lb ground pork 80/20
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to taste
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, diced
  • 1 pound rigatoni cooked al dente, per package instructions
  • Parmesan grated

Instructions

  • Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
  • Add the onion, carrot, and celery then cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes.
  • Add the ground beef and ground pork then season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes; crumble the meat into tiny pieces with a wooden spoon.
  • Cook, continuing to crumble the meat, just until it loses its raw color but has not browned, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.
  • Add the milk and simmer, stirring often, until the milk evaporates and only rendered fat remains, about 15 minutes.
  • Add the wine and simmer, stirring often, until the wine evaporates, about 15 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes and their juice and bring to a simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 hours.
  • Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.
  • Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of salted boiling water, per package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.
  • Add the cooked/drained pasta to the sauce and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter; toss to coat evenly.
  • Adjust the consistency of the sauce with some of the reserved pasta cooking water as needed.
  • Serve immediately with parmesan on the side. Enjoy!
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @4loveofcooking on instagram and hashtag it #4loveofcooking

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




8 Comments

  1. big time comfort food! i’m sitting here looking out the window at the foot of rain coming down (thanks, florence!) and really craving something like this!

  2. 5 stars
    Oh my ….fabulous sauce! The only problem was that my husband and I were both working at home and getting really hungry as the scent wafted through the house! I used red wine instead of white and skipped the butter at the end…sauce didn’t need it and neither does my waistline. It was rich and delicious. I personallly don’t think this would be enough for 8 servings…more like 6. I popped the leftovers in the freezer so we can enjoy this delicious dish again without all the work!