Bolognese...Who Knew?

For years I have heard of "Bolognese" sauce, but didn't actually know what it was. I have made "spaghetti" sauce since I was a teenager (before dirt). Back then in the typical WASP household that meant a meat flavored tomato based sauce...emphasis on tomato and usually very saucy. This weekend I decided to venture past my spaghetti boundaries and research bolognese and try it. It was worth seeking out the new.

Bolognese sauce, as the name would lead you to assume, is from Bologna, Italy. It consists of more meat than tomato, and, as a result, is very hardy. The sauce typically has several types of meat. It often has chicken or goose liver added, but I opted out of that one. I looked at several different recipes for the sauce, and then , as I often do, took what I liked from each and went to work. The result was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. But then, it is pretty hard to go wrong with pasta, meat, and tomatoes.

Ingredients

2 TBS. EVOO
1 medium onion chopped
3 large cloves garlic minced
3 oz. pancetta chopped
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 stalk celery chopped
1 cup carrots grated
8 oz. mushrooms sliced (I used crimini but porcini would be good)
1 28 oz. can crushed tomato
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup water with 1 TBS Kitchen Bouquet added (you could use beef broth but I felt this gave
it a richer back flavor)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. pasta...traditionally this is served with a short pasta...I used the Dreamfields penne pasta,
but, hey, if you want to use spaghetti, go for it

You really need a good sized, 5 or 6, quart pot for this. In the pot put in the EVOO. Add the onions, garlic and pancetta. Saute until the pancetta is fairly crisp. Remove the mixture from the pot and set aside. You could do this in a separate skillet, but I just hate having more pans to clean. And you get the added benefit of a little flavor already in the pot. Now, brown the ground beef and sausage. Toss in the rest of the veggies along with the pancetta/onion mixture, mix well, and cook for 5 or 10 minutes to let the flavors blend. Next, add in the tomato products, the wine, and the water/Kitchen Bouquet mix. Stir until mixed well. Let this simmer for about an hour with the lid on. After an hour remove the lid and add the herbs, salt and pepper. Mix again, leave the lid off and simmer for about another hour.

When you feel you have this cooked to your liking (it should be very thick, not runny), cook the pasta al dente, drain, dump it on a big platter (well, you could use a bowl, but I really love the presentation on a platter), and cover with the sauce. For added color and a little extra boost in flavor, top with fresh grated parmesan cheese and a basil chiffonade. Oh, so pretty! Not to mention yummy. This will definitely fill tummies to capacity. Enjoy!

Salsa Verde

The other day as I was perusing my favorite foodie blogs, I came across a recipe for chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. Now, I've made my own version of chicken enchiladas since before there was dirt. But I had never actually tried my hand at making the green version of salsa. So, I said to myself, "Why not?" After spending several days looking at a myriad of recipes, I came up with my own version. And it wasn't half bad. My hubby found it a bit on the hot side, but then his palate is kind of wussy. Sorry, hon, but you know it's true. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can control the heat. And I will guide you through that. Actually, there's nothing to that. But I wanted to sound like the expert that I'm not. Here we go.

The Ingredients

about 2 lbs. tomatillos
4 poblano peppers
4 jalapeno peppers (you aren't necessarily going to use all these peppers but you can save what you don't use for something else)
about 1/4 bunch of cilantro
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 TBS. lime juice

I know, I know, I didn't put the onion or garlic in the photo. Oh, well.

Here's what I did to my salsa to make it a little different from most of the other recipes. I am sure others have done this, but I didn't see it. I roasted all the peppers. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and brush it with olive oil. Also brush the peppers with the oil. Place the cookie sheet in the center of the oven. Cook until fairly blackened, turning often.

While the peppers are roasting, husk and rinse the tomatillos. Place them in a pot just covered with water and cook until they change color to a dull green. I think those little tomatillos are so cute. I had never worked with them before and found them pretty darn interesting. I digress. Anyway, here's what they look like from start to finish.

About the time you start cooking the tomatillos, the peppers will probably be done. Remove them from the oven and the cookie sheet and place in a paper bag to cool for about 15 minutes.

When the tomatillos are done cooking remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and place them in a food processor or blender. Add the garlic, onion, cilantro, cumin and lime juice. When the peppers have cooled peel and remove the seeds and veins. Start by adding 1 of each pepper. Believe me, you will definitely want to start on the cautious side when adding the peppers. Pulse the blender until the mixture is smooth. Then check for heat and salt. You can keep adding the peppers until your mouth can't take anymore heat. And, voila, salsa verde!

This made around 5 cups. It is a versatile salsa that you can use with chips, fish, beef, or, as I did tonight, to make chicken enchiladas. And, boy, did I have one happy hubby!