Risotto With Bolognese Meat Sauce

Quite a depressing day, with the news from Virginia Tech.  I felt numb, as I listened to the news unfold: This insanity, happening yet again.  I had planned making an involved meal that required making Bolognese meat sauce, and then using it to make risotto.  At first, I didn't want to make anything for dinner.  Food seemed very unimportant.  But I went ahead and actually found some comfort in the simple tasks of chopping and repetitive stirring.  This meal took all day to make, and I appreciated that.  Busy hands help at times like this. 

Unfortunately, the CF card in my new camera suddenly died after I took pictures of the sauce, the pictures vanishing forever.  I then used my old camera to take pictures of the risotto, realizing later that I could have used its CF card in my new camera.

Is this recipe worth all the work? Yes, a thousand times over. The Bolognese sauce is wonderful and I have some left for other meals.  Even if you don't make the risotto, make the sauce. 

Risotto With Bolognese Meat Sauce

Marcella Hazan from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

6-7 cups homemade beef broth, or 2 cups store bought broth diluted with 5 cups water
1-1/4 cups Bolognese Meat Sauce (recipe below)
2 cups arborio rice
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
salt, if required

1.  Bring broth to a simmer on a burner near the risotto.
2.  Put the meat sauce in a broad heavy pot and bring to a simmer. Add the rice and cook for about a minute, stirring and coating the rice.
3.  Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and cook, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed. Make sure to scrape the rice from the bottom as you stir.
4.  When there isn't any liquid left, add another 1/2 cup and repeat. Keep heat at a simmer, and keep adding the liquid and stirring.  After about 20 minutes, begin to taste the risotto. You want it to be tender, but with some firmness.   Keep adding the liquid and stirring, until the rice is to your liking.  If you run out of broth add some water. Don't cook the rice so that it's dry, you want it to always be moist, even when the liquid is absorbed. 
5.  When it's about 1 or 2 minutes from being done, remove from the heat, adjust the salt, and add the butter and the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Serve in dishes topped with a small amount of meat sauce and cheese, if you like.

Bolognese Meat Sauce

Marcella Hazan from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

1 Tbs  olive oil
3 Tbs butter
1/2 Cup chopped onion
2/3 Cup chopped celery
2/3 Cup chopped carrot
3/4 pound ground beef chuck (see note below)
1 Cup whole milk
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 Cup dry white wine
1 1/2 Cup canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
salt
pepper
freshly graded parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. Put oil and butter in a heavy pot with the chopped onion. Turn heat on to medium. Cook and stir onion until translucent. Add chopped celery and carrot. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring the vegetables to coat them well.
2. Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Break up the meat and stir well, cooking until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
3. Add the milk and let simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely.  Add the 1/8 tsp of grated nutmeg and stir.
4. Add the wine and let simmer until it has evaporated. Add tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest simmer with ocassional bubbles breaking. Cook uncovered for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. If the sauce begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat, add 1/2 C of water to keep it from sticking to the pot. At the end, however, no water should remain and the fat must be separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.

Note:  Don't use beef that is too lean. I used beef that was 85% lean. The fat will make the sauce sweet.  This is a rich sauce and a little goes a long way.   You can also use 1 part ground pork to 2 parts ground beef.

Comments

[Anh]

Sher, I can share your feeling about Virginia Tech. Some year back, something similar happened in my campus, and although it was smaller in scale, it shocked us all. And since I love university life, event like those is very sad.

I am glad you got yourself occupied with the delicious food.

[Lydia]

There is nothing better than cooking comfort foods at a time like this. And you made two things that I never think of serving together, risotto and sauce (which here in RI we call gravy).

[Emily]

Hey there --

Marcella's bolognese sauce is my absolute favorite too... Just one recommendation -- up until recently I made it with all beef as described. The last two times I made it with a combo of beef, pork, and veal (sold as a meatloaf mix at my supermarket), and it took what I thought could not get any yummier to a whole new level! And one more aside -- if you haven't tried her recipe (same book) for pasta with eggplant and ricotta sauce, you must. It is divine!

[Rosa]

That looks hyper yummy! I've never eaten Bolognese sauce together with risotto, but that's a good idea. Why not?

[sandeepa]

It was indeed a terrible news. Are you somewhere close to Blackburg, VA ? It gets me extremely worried about sending my daughter school.

I don't have beef so have to pass it on :)

[Glenna]

Beautiful recipe, but yes, what a horrible day yesterday.

[Tanna]

Chopping ritual and rhyme are good comfort...sometimes seems odd but it works. Kneading bread also.
The sauce sounds lovely Sher...
Hope it's a beautiful day today!

[Jeff]

Looks like great comfort food!

[laura k]

This is a completely brilliant idea for risotto. It would never have even occurred to me to add the bolognese at the beginning of the process--genius. Thanks for the idea! And yeah, I've always found big cooking projects are ideal when there is something heavy and difficult on your mind.

[Amy]

Yesterday was just terrible, every time I checked the news it was worse. But I'm glad you cooked. Sometimes cooking and food can just make the day a little bit better. The recipe looks wonderful.

[Lisa]

I can't tell you how good that looks.

I couldn't believe when I heard yesterday.. I just don't understand what's happening in this world anymore? *sigh*

I'm glad cooking this gave you some comfort - I'll look forward to this on that day when I need an all day comfort, thanks =)

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

Risotto is one of my favorite comfort foods. A perfect dish for a sad day indeed.

[sher]

Anh,

Yes, this kind of thing is always terrible, no matter where it happens, but it is particularly awful when it happens at a place like a school or university. I'm sorry you went through something similar.

Lydia,

Yes, I love how many Italians call tomato sauce "gravy". They do that in San Francisco too. And one of the mob guys referred to it that way too--in Italy. :)

Emily,

I haven't tried the eggplant dish--but I will. Thanks. Any Marcella recipe is marvelous. Yes, I think the alternate version of her sauce would be great. My mom made it with part pork and chicken livers and pancetta. Yumm!!!

Rosa,

For some reason, this risotto cooked quicker. Don't know if it was the tomato in the sauce. And the resulting dish was very good. I wanted left-overs for rice pancakes, but my husband ate it all last night. :)

Sandeepa,

No, I live in California, but we have had a big school Massacre, the Columbine Shootings. It was awful, so my heart goes out to everyone affected by this event in Virginia. I understand how you must feel with your daughter going to school.

Glenna,

Thank you--and yes, awful news yesterday.

Tanna,

Yes, there's always another day. And I imagine people have used the rituals of cooking to handle grief through out the ages.

Jeff,

Thank you, it was very good. I wish my husband hadn't eaten the left-overs! :)

Laura K,

Once you have the sauce, this was quite an easy risotto. You don't add anything but the sauce at the beginning. And it cooked quickly. Of course the sauce took 4 hours to cook! :):)

Amy,

Yes, cooking gives us a way to do something with our hands and we produce something sustaining. So, we take care of our bodies--and our soul. It helps a little bit.

Lisa,

I share your disbelief. It troubles me to think that some other unbalanced person will see this event and be inspired to copy it. Sometimes, I'm afraid to turn on the TV, you never know what will be reported.

Lisa (Homesick Texan),

I agree, risotto is one of those comforting meals. And the repetitive labor is a help.

[Katie]

I have the same book and love it. For some reason, lost to the fog of time, I use a bit of pork as well as about 4 oz of ham.
Usually on homemade past for first night and risotto the second. Your risotto looks like the perfect comfort food.
The world is getting to be a very scary place. And no one seems to know why or how to stop it.

[peabody]

You know I always forget that pasta sauce can go over other things...this looks so tasty and comforting(which of course is what you needed). I had to comfort myself with yeast bread.

[The Culinary Chase]

Two of my favorite dishes in one! Beautiful & the risotto looks divine! Cheers!

[aria]

oooh this looks very fine indeed! the only thing better than bolognese for dinner is having a freezer stocked w/ homeade sauce. mmmm. i just did this last weekend w/ meatballs. ohboy!

[begered]

Yes, I too am very sad. It's unbelievable how crazy things can be. I am glad you decided to cook despite everything...it sounds yummy!

[Nabeela]

What awful news...I couldn't help but cry for all those helpless victims. May God rest them in peace. And I dropped my dinner plans after coming to know of the news.

[D]

Wow Sher,

This looks yummy. Don't know if I have the patience to make the sauce though. Hopefully some day I will get around to making this fabulous dish... especially since I absolutely love risotto!

[Patricia Scarpin]

Sher, that's a risotto João would certainly eat!

[s'kat]

Marcella is definitely the girl to go to when it comes to comfort food!

(thanks for checking in with me the other day... there were many kids in this town who went there, and a couple aren't coming back... we're feeling the shock waves, for sure.)

[Kelly Cat's favorite human]

It seems almost a crime to go on with life when horrors are taking place in full view of the world... but what else can we do? Taking your mind off the news and providing comfort food were two good results of this meal. I'll have to show the recipe to my wife...