Today I stumbled across something truly wonderful, and it was a great success! For years, I have made a traditional bolognese sauce as one of my "go to" recipes. I decided to try something new for my repertoire, as I need to start building a portfolio.
This thing of beauty is summed up in one word. "Genovese." The recipe is one of the simplest things I have ever made, but the flavors were so rich and delicious, making this another recipe that I will fix often.
It only has five common ingredients; Lots of onions, carrots, celery, a big slab of beef and enough olive oil to caramelize the onions in. You can also add wine or broth, but I made it without this time. I wasn't sure what to expect, until it sat simmering on the stove for one hour, then two, and finally reached seven. The flavors all merged together as time went on. All I could think about was consuming this beautiful sauce, and for me the question was what to put it on.
The recipe called for long ziti or rigatoni, but, somehow I felt this sauce needed to land on a pile of soft, buttery polenta. So, that is what I did. I was glad I went with my instinct, as the textures and tastes came together to form a magnificent pair! Unfortunately, when I made my polenta, as tasty as it was, it was not picture worthy, so I decided to use this picture from the internet.
You get the idea, though. The beef simmers for so long at low heat that it literally falls apart, and the mirepoix flavors it perfectly, with the only missing ingredient being freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese...oh, and don't forget a nice crusty piece of bread to soak up the rest of the sauce! This practice is called "(Fare la scarpetta)" in Italian. There isn't a literal translation in English, but it means "licking your plate clean with the bottom of your shoe." The shoe, in this case is a piece of bread. :)
It only has five common ingredients; Lots of onions, carrots, celery, a big slab of beef and enough olive oil to caramelize the onions in. You can also add wine or broth, but I made it without this time. I wasn't sure what to expect, until it sat simmering on the stove for one hour, then two, and finally reached seven. The flavors all merged together as time went on. All I could think about was consuming this beautiful sauce, and for me the question was what to put it on.
The recipe called for long ziti or rigatoni, but, somehow I felt this sauce needed to land on a pile of soft, buttery polenta. So, that is what I did. I was glad I went with my instinct, as the textures and tastes came together to form a magnificent pair! Unfortunately, when I made my polenta, as tasty as it was, it was not picture worthy, so I decided to use this picture from the internet.
You get the idea, though. The beef simmers for so long at low heat that it literally falls apart, and the mirepoix flavors it perfectly, with the only missing ingredient being freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese...oh, and don't forget a nice crusty piece of bread to soak up the rest of the sauce! This practice is called "(Fare la scarpetta)" in Italian. There isn't a literal translation in English, but it means "licking your plate clean with the bottom of your shoe." The shoe, in this case is a piece of bread. :)
Let me know if I can cook up some of this sauce for dinner at your house, or better yet, come to mine, and we'll eat it together!
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