recipe for via matta's bolognese sacue?

[cpeloqui]

while i am thinking of it, has the recipe for via matta's bolognese sauce ever been published anywhere -- on the internet, in a newspaper/magazine, etc

thank you!

[MC Slim JB]

That recipe looks like it could be the same one used at Via Matta. Pretty classic version. Schlow and Barbara Lynch use the same trick, adding chicken livers for richness, one I've stolen for use at home.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

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Via Matta
79 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

[bear]

Agreed on the chicken livers. It's remarkable what a small amount can do for the sauce. Elevates it from good to great.

[cpeloqui]

thanks for the help. greatly appreciated.

i just made the bolognese sauce using barbara lynch's recipe. it is now going to simmer for another hour or two.

however, my sauce looks browner and much less red than i expected. i treated myself to some tagliatelle bolognese at the bar at via matta last night so i would have a fresh reference in my mind. it also seems to lack tomato flavor. any advice? any ideas on if i should add anything or just let it simmer and hope for the best.

thanks again.

[Karl S]

Tomato is only there for its acid-fruit profile, umami and savory boost, not for color or pronounced flavor. It should not be conspicuous in this sauce.

[yumyum]

Just let it simmer and do its thing for a bit. It will be much more flavorful in two hours. And even better tomorrow if you can wait!

[Bob Dobalina]

There is a similar recipe I clipped from the NYT years ago called a "white bolognese" with similar properties, so I would not be concerned about the look, as long as you like the taste.

[Karl S]

From 2002 (method paraphrased) - to serve with a pound of rigatoni:

White Bolognese
(Adapted from Heidi da Empoli)

Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 lb mild Italian pork sausage meat, removed from casings
1 lb ground beef (not lean)
1.5 cups dry white wine
1 cube beef bouillon dissolved in 2 cups simmering water
1.5 oz dried porcini mushrooms rehydrated in 3 cups lukewarm water, then chopped (reserving the liquid)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 pound rigatoni
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish

1. Saute onion, carrots and celery in olive oil over high heat until glassy and just tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the meat to the pan and brown well.

2. Add the wine and keep at a rapid simmer until the pan is almost dry. Then add the bouillon and lower the heat to medium low (or whatever level produces a gentle simmer). Simmer uncovered until the bouillon is nearly gone.

3. Add mushroom liquid to cover the meat halfway (about 1 cup) along with the mushrooms and continue simmering about 10 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste; it should be highly seasoned. Add the cream, remove from the heat and cover. This sauces is designed to be thinned with about a cup of the pasta cooking water and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, with the grated cheese as a garnish. Serve on warmed dishes.

[Bob Dobalina]

Yep - that's the one. I use fresh porcini and increase beef broth, rather than mushroom water and bouillon, and it seems to work out fine.

[bear]

Not sure if this is what they serve at the restaurant, but Michael Schlow has this recipe on his website. Sounds delicious.

http://michaelschlow.com/recipes/2009...

[jessabella617]

This is 100% the recipe Schlow serves at both Via Matta and Alta Strada. Delicious.

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Alta Strada
92 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02482

Via Matta
79 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

[bea_eats]

Only 3 cloves of garlic? Seems out of proportion to the amount of the other ingredients... 3 heads of garlic sounds like a lot, though. Anyone know if this is right?

[Nab]

Some traditionalists would say the addition of any garlic at all makes for a blasphemous bolognese.

[Karl S]

Agreed. Would never appear in mine. (And I love garlic. It's just that garlic is a strong flavor that fights the delicacy that is the essence of this particular sauce. No basil or, heaven forfend, oregano (and I use tons of oregano), either...)

[Gabatta]

The garlic in this recipe appears to be used to infuse the oil and then discarded. 3 cloves sounds fine for this purpose.