QUICK AND EASY PEASY BOLOGNESE SAUCE with fetuccine

Bolognese sauce (or ragu alla Bolognese), is a classic Italian meat sauce that originated in the city of Bologna, the capital of the Emilia–Romagna region in Northern Italy.  Bologna is a beautiful university town with a long and impressive cultural history. 

A classic Bolognese contains milk or cream and some type of cured meat such as pancetta. I have chosen to omit the cured meat from my sauce recipe. However, adding a little milk or cream makes the sauce velvety.

An interesting fact is that the city of Bologna has created a standardised recipe for "ragu alla Bolognese." That recipe has been deposited for safekeeping with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. My recipe for Bolognese sauce is deposited in a drawer in my kitchen. Which of the two recipes is more important?  

This easy to make recipe will yield a dense, silky, multi-dimensional sauce. If there are any leftovers, they can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for up to 1 month.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 large red onion, grated 
• 3 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 2 carrots, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 ripe tomatoes, skins removed, chopped
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• red wine, amount according to taste

• For the pasta:

• 1 pound pasta; fettuccine is a good option because this is a hearty sauce that needs a hearty pasta
• chopped parsley and basil
• grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• black pepper

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven and add the onions, carrots and celery.
• Sauté until the vegetables are soft. Keep stirring and add the garlic. Cook for about a minute.
• Add the ground beef and cook, stirring to mix with the vegetables. Keep stirring and cook until all the meat is no longer pink. 
• Season with salt and pepper and mix. 
• Add the oregano, mix, and cook for about a minute
• Add the tomato paste and mix well.
• Add the wine, lower the heat and cook until the sauce is reduced 
• Add the tomatoes and bay leaf.
• Mix, keep the heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally so that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Turn off the heat and add the whole milk
• Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. 
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. 
• Drain and place on a serving platter. 
• Season with Pecorino Romano cheese, chopped parsley, black pepper and basil.
• Spoon some of the sauce on top and mix. 
• Serve the sauce alongside the pasta.  

Olive Oil and Rosemary Bread

Incredibly easy to make, great tasting, a classic bread that's crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle and delectably flavoured with delicious Mediterranean ingredients such as olive oil and rosemary! When this bread is baking it exudes a fantastic aroma!!!

My olive oil and rosemary bread rises quickly and bakes in about 30 minutes. It's an enriched bread, a type of bread whose dough contains fat. In this case, the fat, in the form of 5 tablespoons of olive oil, is a good type of fat: 70% of olive oil is comprised of monounsaturated fats, and evidence shows that monounsaturated fats in the diet reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. In addition to its health benefits, olive oil makes the bread taste better, keep better, and stay softer longer. 

Check out the recipe, and then bake some for yourself. Try it and you'll love it!

Two oval loaves of olive oil and rosemary bread. In this rendition, omitted the whole wheat flour and instead used three cups of bread flour.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons bread flour 
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water 
• 3/4 cup water 
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl and to oil the top of the loaves
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
• 1 cup whole wheat flour  
• 2 cups bread flour plus a little extra for dusting the work surface and the loaf (or loaves).

The dough can be formed into two smaller loaves of one larger one. 

Directions:

• In a measuring cup stir together the honey and the warm water. Mix well. 
• Add the yeast, mix, then add the two tablespoons of flour. Mix again and let stand for about 15 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble and rise.
• Meanwhile, into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook add the rest of the water (3/4 cup), the olive oil, the salt, the chopped rosemary, and the pepper.
• Add the yeast mixture, mix with a spatula and begin stirring on the low setting. 
• Add the bread flour slowly and continue to mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Use a rubber spatula to move the dough closer to the dough hook. 
• Raise the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. 
• Lightly dust a surface with flour and place the dough on top. The dough should be soft and really pliable.  Roll it in the flour and shape it into a ball.
• Grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball inside. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then cover it with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about one and a half-hour.
• Press down on the dough to release the gas created by the yeast. Let it rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Allowing it to rest will make the dough more pliable. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and if you'd like to make two loaves, divide it in half.
• Roll into a loaf (or loaves) and transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. 
• Cover with plastic wrap, place in a warm, draft-free spot and let rise for forty-five minutes.  
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. 
• Score the dough, brush it with olive oil and dust with a little flour. 

The scoring of bread can be an art form. Some bakers will use a particular scoring style as their personal signature. You can see by this picture that I made a "scoring error." Do use a sharp knife, or a sharp blade, or a sharp pair of kitchen scissors. Unfortunately, on this day, my kitchen shears were dull ... 

• You could decorate the top of the dough with rosemary, however, the rosemary will burn in the oven. You may choose to decorate the bread once it has finished baking.
• Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Adjust the baking time depending on whether you are baking one large loaf or two smaller ones. 
• Let cool on a wire rack before slicing. No matter how incredibly wonderful its aroma, try to resist the urge of cutting into the bread right away. It will slice better after it has cooled.