Last (or almost last) tomatoes of the season at the farmer’s market. Four pounds of them, plus four pounds of ground meat (beef, lamb, and pork). One hour of chopping sauteeing, and browning to build the sauce, then six hours slow simmering, using Marcella Hazan’s recipe as the base idea, modified by 25 years or so of making this myself every fall. I make a huge pot and freeze most of it in tubs for the winter.
Sunday dinner last week was fresh hand-made spinach pappardalle with the Bolognese, and it was good. The pasta we very green and spinach-y, and the sauce reflected its six hours of cooking to meld the flavors. One of the best versions of this I have made.
It is a joy to make this. The house smells amazing all day, and freezing tubs of this means easy weeknight pasta a couple of times in the winter. It’s just reheat and go, so I sometimes make the fresh pasta for that since the sauce is already done….