01
Prep the soffritto.
Aim for half onion, a quarter carrot, a quarter celery. Four to five medium yellow onions is your base. Finely chop into a brunoise, or pulse in a food processor if you're in a hurry.
Bolognese
It is deceptively simple. There are no exact portions to memorize, just a handful of good ingredients, a heavy pot, and the better part of a day. The browning makes or breaks it, and the broth does the quiet work underneath.
I learned this bolognese method from @frankprisinzano, and it’s brought joy to my family for years. When you let a bolognese simmer for hours it fills the house with anticipation and aromas that are out of control. Try your hand at a bolognese with brodo.
It is deceptively simple. There are no exact portions to memorize, just a handful of good ingredients, a heavy pot, and the better part of a day. The browning makes or breaks it, and the broth does the quiet work underneath.
Make a big batch. Use it for lasagna, fold it through pasta, spoon it onto a pizza, feed it to your kids, give some to your neighbours. Bolognese is currency. Spend it wisely.
02
Brown the beef.
Add the ground beef to a cold stainless steel pot over high heat. Break it up and wait for it to release its liquid. Stainless gives you fond. Nonstick is easier, but you lose that.
03
Add the butter.
Once it's sizzling, add the butter, more if your beef is lean. The fat content is the whole game here.
04
Take it browner than you think.
Keep scraping the fond off the bottom with a flat wooden spoon as you stir. Push the colour further than feels comfortable, without burning it. This is where the deep, earthy flavour comes from.
05
Add the soffritto.
Once every kernel of meat is brown, stir in the vegetables. Cook until they release their liquid and the onions go soft.
06
Deglaze with white wine.
Pour in the wine and scrape up every last bit of fond. Reduce until there's almost no liquid left.
07
Tomato paste, milk, then Brodo.
Stir in the tomato paste and let it integrate, going by colour. Add the milk, then enough warm Brodo to loosen the sauce so the meat floats freely.
08
Low and slow.
Bring to a gentle simmer on the lowest setting of your smallest burner. Cook 7 to 8 hours, stirring every 20 to 30 minutes and adding a splash of Brodo to hold the consistency. Picture each kernel of meat being braised.
09
Add the cinnamon.
About four hours in, drop in half a stick of cinnamon.
10
Taste, rest, finish.
When the meat melts in your mouth but still holds some texture, take it off the heat and rest it a few hours. Bring it back to a simmer to serve. Off the heat, stir in grated Parmigiano. Salt the pasta water generously and meld it all together in the pan.
Cook with the real thing.
24-hour simmer, eight ingredients, no shortcuts. The broth this recipe was built for.
Grass-Fed Beef Bone Broth · $14
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