Macaroni With Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound lean ground pork

1/4 pound piece pancetta -- diced

1 onion -- peeled and diced

1 carrot -- diced

1 celery rib -- diced

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups hot chicken broth

4 chicken livers -- washed and diced Fine sea salt -- to taste Grinding of coarse black pepper

1 pound short-cut pasta with lines = (such as rigatoni or ziti)

4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a 10- or 12-inch saute pan, combine the butter, pork, pancetta, onion, carrot, and celery, and cook the mixture, stirring often, until the pork has turned gray in color and the onions have softened.

Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir in.  Pour in the chicken broth, cover the pan, and simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.  Uncover the pan, stir in the chicken livers, cover the pan again, and cook for an additional 5 minutes over low heat.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.  Set it aside and keep it warm while the pasta is cooking.

Cook the pasta in 4 to 6 quarts of salted, boiling water until it is al dente; pasta should retain its shape and not collapse on itself and when cut into, no trace of white flour should remain.  Drain the pasta and transfer it to a serving dish.  Pour the sauce over the top and toss it well.  Sprinkle on the cheese and serve immediately.

This recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.

Comments:  This robust Bolognese sauce made with ground pork, pancetta, and chicken livers is perfect for short cuts of pasta such as rigatoni.  The sauce ingredients simmer for 30 minutes; this is in sharp contrast to other types of Bolognese sauces that need to cook slowly for at least two hours or until they are very concentrated.  Resist the temptation to add too much salt to this sauce, as the pancetta provides just enough.

Go to Italian Recipes »