Weekend Bolognese with Cultured Butter

Italian · Autumn · 200 min · Serves 6 · By Eleanor March

The cultured butter is not a flourish. It enriches the soffritto and gives the finished ragu a roundness you would otherwise need cream for. A Saturday afternoon project that leaves you with Sunday lunch.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons Fattoria Rossi cultured butter
  • 2 tablespoons Olio del Monte Castelvetrano oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 celery rib, finely diced
  • 700g ground beef chuck
  • 200g ground pork shoulder
  • 240ml dry white wine
  • 240ml whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons La Conserva di Nonna tomato conserva
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • Pappardelle and grated parmigiano, to serve

Method

  1. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Sweat the soffritto with a pinch of salt until soft and just beginning to color, about 18 minutes.
  2. Raise the heat. Add the meats, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, and brown until any liquid has cooked off and the bottom of the pan is fond.
  3. Pour in the wine and reduce until almost gone. Pour in the milk and reduce by half.
  4. Stir in the conserva. Add the stock to barely cover. Bring to a low simmer, partially cover, and cook 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed.
  5. Taste and season. Toss with cooked pappardelle and a generous shower of parmigiano.