When I was twenty years old, I was traveling in Italy for a study abroad trip. I knew there was so much to an Italian Bolognese that I was missing in America. I walked down the arcades of Bologna, found the tiniest trattoria, and ordered the dish I had hyped up in my head for months. I wondered if it could live up to the expectations I had conjured in my mind. And it did. This dish made me obsess over cooking with new textures. After about a decade of tinkering with this recipe, I think I created a Bolognese that lives up to the version I had on that late summer night in Bologna so many years ago. Serves 10
1 large white onion, roughly chopped
2 bunches celery, roughly chopped
2–3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
½ cup vegetable oil
2 pounds ground beef (80–85% lean)
Salt to taste
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1–2 tablespoons dry white wine to taste
1 (4.5-ounce) tube tomato paste
1–2 bay leaves
Pinch ground nutmeg
3 cups beef stock
1 cup milk
2 (1-pound) boxes tagliatelle pasta
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Chopped fresh basil, for garnish
1.Pulse the onion, celery, and carrots in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl.
2.Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground beef, lightly season with salt, and cook, stirring often to break up the meat, until no longer pink, 6–8 minutes. Transfer the beef to a large bowl.
3.Wipe out the pot, then add the pancetta. Cook over medium heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring often. Add the vegetable mixture to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft and beginning to stick to the surface, 6–8 minutes.
4.Return the beef to the pot and add the white wine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the meat is finely broken up, 12–15 minutes.
5.Add the tomato paste, bay leaf, and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste is slightly darkened, about 5 minutes.
6.Add the beef stock and milk and season with salt if needed. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let simmer 20–30 minutes while you make the pasta.
7.Fill a large pot with water and salt generously. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until 1 or 2 minutes shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain.
8.Transfer the pasta to the pot of sauce. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and Parmesan. Increase the heat to medium and bring the sauce back to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until the pasta is al dente and the liquid is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
9.Serve the pasta and sauce in bowls, topped with more grated Parmesan and fresh basil.