Pappardelle Bolognese

Yesterday it was 60 degrees Fahrenheit in NY and when a breeze hit you, if felt just cold enough to want to snuggle into comfy clothes at night and eat some warm pasta. I had bought Mario Batali’s cookbook, The Babbo Cookbook, over the summer. Many of its recipes and pictures have sparked my interest. but I - for no particular reason -  haven’t gotten around to making any of them. I decided to make the Pappardelle Bolognese and test my skills in making homemade pasta.

 

The first batch of dough I made just quite frankly did not work out. I decided for the second batch to use 3 cups of flour instead of 3 1/2 and that seemed to work fine. Even though I got extra-large eggs, they just didn’t look as large as they should have been. I think this was why I needed less flour. And while I would have loved to get some pictures of me passing  the dough through my Kitchen Aid Pasta Maker Attachment, I needed two hands to hold and feed the pasta and there was nothing left to take the pictures with.

 

I had cut the recipe in half as I didn’t need that much bolognese but made 1lb of dough. I have left-overs of it and will save it for future use.

 

This dish was just want I wanted. The bolognese was incredibly flavorful and hearty, and much to my surprise and satisfaction, the pasta turned out very good (next time though I will cut the pappardelle narrower and shorter).

 

Recipe: Pappardelle Bolognese from The Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali

 

Serves: 6 - 8 ppl

 

Ingredients - Bolognese

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium onions - finely chopped

4 celery stalks - finely chopped

2 carrots - peeled and finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, sliced

1 lb ground Veal

1 lb ground Pork

1/4 lb Pancetta, or slab bacon, ground

1 can tomato paste

1 cup milk

1 cup dry white wine

1 tspn fresh thyme leaves

kosher slat and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 1/2 recipe Basic Pasta Dough 

Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

 

Directions - Bolognese

 

In a 6 to 8-quart, heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic, and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the veal, pork, and pancetta and stir into the vegetables. Brown over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking. Add the tomato paste, milk, wine, and thyme, bring just to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper (NOTE: Since I ended up cutting this recipe in two, mine took just under an hour to cook)

Roll the pasta dough to the thinnest setting on a pasta machine. Cut the pasta sheets crosswise into 1 1/2 inch wide strips. Set aside on a baking tray, with the thin layers of pasta separated by wax or parchment paper.

Bring 6 quarts of water to boil and add two tbls salt

Transfer two cups of the ragu to  a 12 to 14-inch saute pan, and heat gently over medium heat. Cook the pappardelle in the boiling water until tender, about 1 minute. Drain the pasta, then add it to the pan with the ragu and toss over medium heat until it is coated and the sauce is dispersed, about 1 minute. Divide evenly among 6 to 8 warmed bowls. Grate Parmigiano-Reggiano over each bowl and serve immediately.

 

CLICK HERE for BASIC PASTA DOUGH Recipe