Dinner Party: Pasta Bolognese

For my next dinner party, on September 4, I treated John and Krystle to an Italian-themed meal.

The main course was a pasta with a Bolognese sauce, and it was served alongside some broccoli seasoned with garlic and red peppers. To top it all off, I served a limoncello-flavored gelato for dessert.

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Pasta Bolognese

Ingredients:

• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes with juice or crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 ounces pancetta or 6 slices bacon, finely chopped
• 1/4 pound ground pork (not lean)
• 1/4 pound ground beef chuck (not lean)
• 1/4 pound ground veal
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 carrot, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound small pasta such as orecchiette or rotini
• Garnish: Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions:

If using whole tomatoes, in blender or food processor, purée tomatoes with juice. Set aside.

In large, heavy pot over moderate heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Add pancetta and sauté until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Add beef, pork, and veal and sauté, breaking up meat with back of spoon, until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add onion and carrot and sauté until vegetables are tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir in red wine and simmer, scraping up browned bits stuck to bottom of pan, until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, cream, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to moderately low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and brick-red in color, approximately 30 minutes.

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until almost tender. Drain well and toss with sauce. Serve with grated cheese.

Notes:
This turned out well. The recipe was intended to serve six, so I had plenty of leftovers after the dinner was over.

I wasn't able to find ground pork, so, instead of using pork I increased the amount of beef and veal in the recipe. If I made it again, I would probably only use beef, partially for cost reasons, and partially because I felt slightly weird about using veal in a recipe.

I don't have a large food processor, so dealing with the tomatoes was a bit of a challenge and fairly messy. I'd probably want to figure out alternative strategies, or just get a larger food processor.

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Broccoli Sautéed in Wine and Garlic

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 pounds broccoli, cut into spears
• 1 cup Frascati or other dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• Grated zest of 1 orange

Instructions:
In a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil with the garlic over medium-high heat until just sizzling. Add the broccoli and cook, tossing frequently and gradually adding the wine to keep the garlic from browning until the stalks are tender 8 to 10 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and zests, and tossing well, serve immediately.

Notes:
The hot red pepper flakes definitely added a lot of flavor to the broccoli. It was a little tricky to add the wine at the right time, since I was simultaneously making the pasta, but it turned out well, and complemented the main dish.

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Limoncello Gelato

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 4 coffee beans
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup limoncello or other lemon liqueur plus additional for serving

Instructions:

Whisk first 6 ingredients in large saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Cook over medium-high heat until bubbles form at edges, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep 15 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice in large bowl until thick and smooth. Slowly whisk warm cream mixture into yolk mixture. Return custard to same saucepan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens enough to coat spoon and thermometer registers 180°F, about 6 minutes; do not boil. Pour custard into medium bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup limoncello. Chill custard until cold, stirring occasionally, at least 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Process custard in ice cream maker according to instructions. Transfer to container; cover and freeze up to 2 days. Scoop gelato into glasses. Drizzle with additional limoncello and serve.

Notes:
Although I purchased the coffee beans ahead of time, I forgot to use them in the final recipe. I also used vanilla bean paste in lieu of an actual vanilla bean.

I liked how it turned out; it was a bit less sweet than other ice creams I've made, but it was quite flavorful.