Murph's Kicked Up Bolognese

Cherie, Meg and Tara

In honor of Mother's Day I am making one of the best recipes I learned from my mom for the mother of my children.  All things considered, the two most influential women in my life both love great food, are great cooks and anything Italian rises to the top of the list.

We started off with some awesome lambs milk cheese from one of our favorite local wine and cheese shops called the "Rum Runner" and worked through a steamed artichoke while enjoying a bottle of Proseco on the back porch as well.

Ingredients

3-4 Good Glugs Olive Oil
2 Onions Finely Chopped
2 Carrots, Grated
4 Celery Sticks Finely Chopped
6 Garlic Cloves Finely Chopped
Italian Seasoning Mix
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 Tbsp Red Chili Flakes
One Pound Mild Italian Sausage
One Pound Hot Italian Sausage
One Pound Ground Turkey
One Cup Cabernet Sauvignon ( Or other good big red)
5 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Large Cans Italian Plum Tomatoes (San Marzano Preferred)
4  tspns Sugar
1 Cup Half and Half
2 Cups Chopped Basil-divided

Cooking Directions

In a large heavy stock pot over medium high heat coat the bottom of your pot with a good olive oil.  Add the chopped onions, grated carrots,  finely chopped celery, and minced garlic and saute for about 5-8 minutes.  You want the onions well cooked and all the veggies to be getting nice and soft before adding the meats.  Add both packets of sausage and turkey and saute until the meats is well on its way to brown and all the pink is gone.

Add the tomato paste, spices and red wine and bring to a nice boil.  This is a good point to deglaze any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and make sure you let the alcohol in the wine cook off before adding the next ingredients.  Once the wine has cooked down a bit, add your two cans of crused tomatoes and the sugar.  I always add sugar to any dish that calls for tomato paste because it is a bitter  substance that needs to be balanced with a bit of sweetness.  Let the sauce come to a modest boil for about 10 minutes.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours.

This is a great dish to make early in the day as it only gets better as it sits on the stove and when the guests arrive they invariably enter walk through the front door and remark "mmm...something sure smells good."


Fill your favorite pasta pot with a generous amount of water, lots of salt and bring to a vigorous boil. Add the pasta and cook very al dente as this is a perfect sauce to add to the pasta in a large bowl prior to serving.

About twenty minutes before serving, add the half and half and stir softly.  Stir occasionally while allowing to simmer over very low heat for about another  10 minutes.

About two minutes before gently tossing the pasta and the sauce in a large serving bowl, add 80% of the chopped basil and stir slowly.  The remaining basil is a good garnish for your final stage just prior to serving.  The combination of the sweet basil and the slow burn from the chili flakes make this a truly sweet and savory dish.

A bit of work but this is true comfort food when served with crunchy garlic bread and freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese.

Buon Appetito!