Pork Bolognese Sauce

My latest obsession: making bolognese sauce with pork sausage meat. Swap out the ground beef for pork and it’s a whole new world. I use my basic bologenese style recipe and the only other addition is a stalk of dried fennel weed.

My latest obsession: making bolognese sauce with pork sausage meat. Swap out the ground beef for pork and it's a whole new world.  I use my basic bologenese style recipe and the only other addition is a stalk of dried fennel weed which you know is one of my other obsessions. If you don't have whole stalks of fennel at your disposal, add fennel seed and consider planting fennel in the garden next season. Go for a big hearty red wine and if you are tapping into your Italian 'contadini' roots, serve the wine in an old juice glass, and laugh a lot while you are eating. Buon'appetito!

Basic Bolognese: Gently saute' chopped carrots, celery, onions.  Add the meat, chopping up the chunks with your wooden spoon. Then add a good glug of milk and let that simmer.  Now add a good glug of wine and let that simmer. Add some chopped garlic, throw in the fennel weed, add pureed tomatoes, turn down the heat and let simmer for a couple of hours or until the smell drives you insane and you just have to eat it!