How to Make Bolognese Sauce

Put the oil, chopped onion, celery, carrots, and guanciale in the pot and turn the heat on low to medium. Cook and stir regularly for 10 to 15 minutes gently.

Add ground beef, one-half of salt (leave actual salt seasoning for the end. If all the salt is added before, the reduction of the sauce may cause a spike in saltiness), and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.

Add one-half of the milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating (about 1/8 teaspoon) of nutmeg, and stir.

Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomato sauce and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down to the lowest so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, covered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water (or beef stock or vegetable stock) whenever necessary. In the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.

30 minutes before your Bolognese sauce is ready start boiling your water for the pasta on high flame with ½ tbsp of salt (it should come down to a 1.5% salt to water ratio). Once boiling, throw the pasta in the water and cook while stirring for as long as described on the package.

Toss with cooked drained pasta, add the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on top or on the side.

Enjoy!