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White Bolognese
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White Bolognese

White Bolognese

White Bolognese is sort of like regular Bolognese, but without the tomatoes and kinda way more fun. My version is creamy, rich, a little spicy, and it has pancetta - which is not traditional, but why the hell not? It's comforting without being boring and impressive without being fussy. If you’ve never made it, now’s your moment.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 4 oz pancetta, finely diced
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1.25 pounds ground pork
  • Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper
  • ½ cup vermouth, or dry white wine
  • 1.5 cups whole milk or half & half
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • One pound pasta
  • Grated Parmigiano for serving

Directions

  1. Melt butter with oil in a large skillet, and add pancetta - cook until beginning to get crisp, 4-5 minutes then remove most of the grease but leave the pancetta
  2. Using a processor, buzz the carrot, celery & onion until super fine, or finely dice all 3 then add to the pancetta and cook until soft and starting to color a bit, 8–10 minutes, then add the garlic and red pepper flakes, stir for another minute
  3. Add pork, season with salt and pepper, and cook until fully browned - breaking it up while it cooks
  4. Pour in the vermouth or wine, scraping across the bottom to get up any stuck on bits, then let simmer on low a couple minutes until reduced by about half
  5. Stir in the milk or half & half and chicken stock, mix well, add the rosemary and let simmer uncovered about 30 minutes, stirring now and then. You're looking for it to thicken up into a creamy, beautiful sauce
  6. Boil pasta in salted water, reserve about ½ cup of the starchy water before draining
  7. Remove the rosemary sprig, then toss the pasta in with the sauce, adding a splash of the pasta water to loosen it a bit if you like, then grate the Parm all over and serve