Making Bolognese is often an all-day affair, but its depth and richness can’t be beat. We wanted a quicker, weeknight-friendly version that wouldn’t sacrifice flavor. Our first move was to use our Dutch oven to deeply brown the aromatics and some pancetta (but not the ground beef, which would dry out and toughen if seared) to develop a flavorful fond; we also treated the ground beef with a baking soda solution to ensure that it stayed tender. Tomato paste and red wine added brightness. Some grated Parmesan thickened the sauce and offered savory depth. To save on dishes, we found that we could cook the pasta right in the pot by thinning out the sauce and stirring in the dried pappardelle. The pasta absorbed the flavorful liquid, and the sauce ended up with just the right noodle-coating consistency. Do not substitute fresh pappardelle here; it is too delicate and will break apart. You can substitute 1 pound dried fettuccine for the pappardelle, if desired; break the pasta in half before adding it to the pot and increase the cooking time to 16 to 18 minutes in step 5.
Ingredients
- 1 pound 93 percent lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons plus 1½ cups water, plus extra as needed
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Salt and pepper
- 6 ounces pancetta, chopped coarse
- 1 onion, chopped coarse
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped coarse
- 1 celery rib, chopped coarse
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), plus extra for serving
- 1 pound dried pappardelle
- Toss beef with 2 tablespoons water, baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in bowl until thoroughly combined; set aside.
- Pulse pancetta in food processor until finely chopped, 15 to 20 pulses. Add onion, carrot, and celery and pulse until vegetables are finely chopped and mixture has paste-like consistency, 12 to 15 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Heat butter and oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pancetta-vegetable mixture and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Spread mixture in even layer in bottom of pot and continue to cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until very dark browned bits form on bottom of pot, 7 to 12 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook until paste is rust-colored and bottom of pot is dark brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium, add beef mixture, and cook, using wooden spoon to break meat into pieces no larger than ¼ inch, until beef has just lost its raw pink color, 4 to 7 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to simmer. Cook until wine has evaporated and sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, Parmesan, and remaining 1½ cups water and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium-high and bring sauce to boil. Gently nestle pasta into sauce and return to vigorous simmer. Cover and cook, stirring often, until pasta is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Adjust sauce consistency with hot water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.