Bolognese Beef Sauce

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 6 ounces pancetta, finely chopped (or use bacon)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed, lightly crushed
• 1/2 cup milk
• 28 ounces whole tomatoes
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red wine (or 2 tsp/10 ml red wine vinegar)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Recipe

• 1 in a large dutch oven, saute beef over medium-high heat, breaking up with spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. drain off any fat.
• 2 add pancetta, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, salt, pepper and fennel seeds; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.
• 3 add milk; simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.
• 4 add tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, wine, bay leaf and sugar, breaking up tomatoes with potato masher (i usually just use a fork). .
• 5 bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened and mixture can mound on spoon, about 1 hour.
• 6 discard bay leaf. stir in parsley.
• 7 (make-ahead: let cool for 30 minutes; refrigerate, uncovered, in airtight container until cold. cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month.).