Laura:
For my mom's 60th birthday, I took her on a cruise that left from Venice, Italy. We had the opportunity to eat & explore Venice on both sides of our cruise. I can say that eating in Venice is not as awe inspiring as it is in other parts of Italy, most notably Florence and Rome. We were staying in this charming pensioned named Casa Verardo, which was a few alleyways off St. Mark's Square. One night we asked the owner where we should eat because we were sick of the overpriced & underwhelming tourist restaurants along the Grand Canal or near the Rialto Bridge.. She recommended a small, local trattoria around the corner. We were happy because the prices (finally) were reasonable and the menu was full of Italian classics. Mom ordered the rigatoni bolognese. I believe it cost only 6 euros! When it arrived, it tasted far better than the bolognese we had made at home with ground beef. Mom asked the waiter the restaurants secret to its delicious bolognese sauce. The waiter replied simply, "ground veal." Thanks to that meal, and that trip to the other Venice, a new and improved recipe for bolognese was born:
RIGATONI BOLOGNESE
2 carrots, chopped finely
2 celery stalks, chopped finely
1 small, sweet onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. ground veal
1 cup of Chianti
1 15 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 box of rigatoni
salt & pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, or fresh basil, to taste
wedge of fresh parmesan
You're going to make what the french call a mirepoix with the onion, celery & carrot. It is the basis of a lot of southern French & norther Italian cooking.
I usually do this in a deeper pot since you add all the ingredients to it.
1. Heat the olive oil in a deep pan or pot. Add the onion, celery & carrot & sautee until they soften. Be careful to do this on a lower heat, as you don't want the onion to burn. Add the garlic & stir until the garlic becomes translucent.
2. Turn up the heat a bit & add the ground veal to brown it. You do not want to strain the fat out. The juices released by the ocooking veal add the special flavor.
3. Once the veal is browned, add the cup of wine and stir.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper.
5. Simmer on a low heat for an hour. This will thicken the sauce.
6. After the sauce has simmered for an hour, boil the rigatoni in salted water.
7. To plate the dish, put the rigatoni in a bowl, some sauce on top & add the fresh parsley/basil and some fresh, shaved parmesan.
BUON APPETITO!!!!
