Bolognese my way

Every so often I have a strong urge to eat beef. It's probably because my body is craving iron. Also, I love pasta but do not love meat sauce made with ground beef. I don't really care for the texture of the meat. So here's a meat sauce with plenty of vegetables and a really hearty flavor. I warn you though, it is not a red tomato sauce.

I start with three slices of bacon, cut into small pieces. I toss the bacon into a 5-quart dutch oven and brown it up until it's crispy and has rendered its fat. Remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Add one diced onion, two diced carrots, two diced stalks of celery and salt and pepper to taste. Saute over medium heat in the bacon grease until the onion becomes translucent, a few minutes at least. Then add about one pound of stew beef that you've cut up into smaller pieces (I like mine really small, about one-half inch cubes). If you'd like, you can substitute a one pound beef chuck roast and shred it into smaller pieces when the cooking process is done. Brown the meat in the pot with the vegetables.

When the meat has browned add six tablespoons of tomato paste and stir it into the mixture, cooking it for a minute or two. Add two cups of low-salt beef broth (one 14-ounce can) and two cups of dry red wine (use the same can to measure). Add your bacon pieces and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover the pot, but not tightly. Leave a little room for steam to escape so the sauce reduces a bit. Simmer, stiring occasionally, for two hours. At the last half-hour, stir in about one-half cup of half and half (or milk or cream). Use your judgement here, taste the sauce to see if you'd like more cream or salt or pepper.

That's it. Serve the Bolognese over a sturdy pasta, such as penne, that you've cooked while the sauce simmered. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and serve with a good Italian bread. As Rachel Ray would say, "Yummo."