Ragu alla Bolognese (Biba’s Original)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1/4 lb pancetta, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 lbs ground veal
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 (28-oz) can crushed Italian-style tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup milk

Directions

Melt butter with oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, add onion, carrot, celery and pancetta.  Saute until lightly browned. Add veal. Cook, stirring, until meat is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper.  Increase heat to high and stir in wine. Cook until wine has evaporated.

Press tomatoes through a food mill or sieve to remove seeds. Stir tomato pulp into veal mixture.  Cover and reduce heat. Simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until sauce reaches a medium-thick consistency. Add milk and cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

from Biba's Northern Italian Cooking, by , pg