Ragu Alla Bolognese

A thick, meaty italian ragu for serving over, or tossed into tortelloni, tagliatelli, or similar pasta. This version comes direct from Rome.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 4-8

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb ground beef or 1⁄2 lb  veal
• 1 1⁄2 ounces prosciutto di Parma, small dice
• 12  ounces tomato sauce
• 2  ounces cremini mushrooms, extra fine chop
• 1  large garlic clove, minced
• 1  cup red wine
• 1  tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1  teaspoon  fresh ground nutmeg
• 1  cup onion, small chop
• 1⁄2 cup carrot, fine chop
• 1⁄2 cup celery, fine chop
• 1  cup beef or 1  cup  veal stock
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried marjoram or 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fresh marjoram
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fresh oregano
• 1  pinch flour
• 2  tablespoons butter

Directions

1. In hot saute' pan, saute' onion, garlic, carrot, celery, proscuitto di Parma, beef/veal, and mushrooms for 3 or 4 minutes. DO NOT BROWN.
2. Add wine and reduce liquid by 1/3.
3. Reduce heat and add flour, tomato sauce,marjoram,parsley,and nutmeg.
4. Simmer covered 1 hour.
5. Salt and pepper to taste halfway through.
6. Add more stock during cooking if needed.
7. When done, turn off heat and stir in butter.
8. Serve over, or tossed into pasta. Tortelloni is our favorite.
9. Note:The important thing here is uniformity of particle size in the ragu. When done, all ingredients that are still solid, should be about the same size, which should be about like the "o" in this font. Break apart any clumps of ground meat, chop the shrooms small, dice the prosciutto small. We recommend to only use imported Prosciutto di Parma, not domestic prosciutto. the flavor is very unique and is at the very heart of this recipe.