A Hearty Italian Dinner

I have been subscribing to Cooking Light for quite a long time now and overall I really like the magazine.  In every issue, I always find something that interests me.  The recipes can be a little hit or miss for me, though.  Some months I feel like I want to make every recipe in the issue and other months there may be only one or two recipes that I think I would make.  A lot of times it’s not necessarily because I wouldn’t like it myself, but because someone else in the house wouldn’t like something about it.

When I saw this recipe for bolognese (which I think was probably two years ago), I knew I had a winner.  The whole family loves pasta, so toss it with a hearty meat sauce and you can’t go wrong.  The original recipe was all ground pork, but I really love veal and I happened to have both ground pork and ground veal in the freezer.  So I substituted the veal for half of the pork and I have to say it was pretty darn good.  The veal had a very mellow flavor but at the same time it adds a richness to the dish. (I’m getting hungry again just writing about it!).

This dish takes awhile to make, but most of the cooking time is hands off while it simmers.  It also freezes really well, so if you have leftovers you can freeze them for a night when you need something quick.  I also freeze any leftover pasta in individual portions in zip-loc bags and they heat up in no time, so you can save yourself even more time on a busy night!

• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 lb ground veal
• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 oz pancetta, chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 lb roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)
• 1 cup 1% milk
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 – 2oz piece of parmigiano-reggiano rind (don’t leave this out, it gives awesome flavor to the dish)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley ( I didn’t have any, but it will add some brightness to the dish)
• chopped basil for garnish
• hot cooked pasta
• grated parmigiano-reggiano for serving

Start out by prepping all of your vegetables and your pancetta.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf and a little salt and pepper.  Saute for about 8 minutes until vegetable are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, wine, milk, nutmeg and cheese rind.  Bring mixture to a boil.