Reprinted from i Saluti, April 2000

Alfisti Cooks Bolognese Sauce!

by Sue Houser

The fifth annual Alfa Flea Market/Swap Meet and Pasta Party at the Hirsch’s March 26th was fun and of course the food was delicious. Norma brought her Italian Salad (featured in last month’s Alfisti Cooks) and Janet made her absolutely fabulous Bolognese Sauce. Janet has been serving this wonderful sauce at this event since she and Rich organized and hosted the first one in 1996. Every year we have gathered at their home to enjoy Janet’s culinary delight and buy/swap Alfa stuff. What more is there to life?

To quote Janet, “When I first learned how to cook and made ‘spaghetti sauce’ it was always the conventional ground beef-tomato sauce-sugar-onions-celery type. It was always good, but nothing special. Then I discovered Bolognese sauce, the delightful meat sauce prepared in the style used in Bologna, northern Italy. This recipe is an adaptation of one by Louis Swathmary, the chef at the legendary ‘Bakery’ restaurant in Chicago. I found it in his book The Chef’s Secret Cookbook and streamlined it by using the exotic prepared tomato sauces that are available today, but the key elements remain: sausage and cream.”

“Serve this sauce with pasta shells, conchiglie rigate, which are like little cups that hold the meat and sauce so every bite is full of the Bolognese flavor and texture”

 

Janet Hirsch’s
Bolognese Sauce
  • 1/2 lb. Italian sausage (Schnucks makes the best grocery store Italian sausage in St. Louis)
  • 1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced (Must be fresh, do not use canned mushrooms)
  • 1 large jar (26 oz.) Five Brothers 3-Pepper Spicy tomato sauce (Use any brand and flavor you prefer, but make sure it's a premium brand, Ragu or Prego just aren’t good enough)
  • 1 small carton (½ pint) whipping cream
  • 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Brown the sausage and saute the mushrooms in butter, then combine them with the tomato sauce and cream. Bring to a boil and simmer 6 hours. Stir in the Parmesan cheese before serving.

You can simmer just 20 minutes and have a great sauce, but for the best blending of flavors give it about 6 hours.

Pasta tips:

  • The above recipe makes enough sauce for one pound of pasta.
  • Add the pasta to the boiling water, and immediately stir to prevent clumping of the pasta.
  • If you plan to salt the pasta, add it to the boiling water so it's absorbed by the pasta.
  • Do NOT rinse the pasta with water after draining. Toss the hot sauce with the hot pasta immediately so the sauce is absorbed by the pasta.

Janet mentioned that she also added fresh chopped tomatoes to her sauce served at the Pasta Party.

For those of you who would like the “Traditional Way” of making the sauce, look to future "Alfisti Cooks." My thanks to Janet for sharing her always wonderful Bolognese Sauce and also to Rich and Janet for hosting the Swap Meet (again).

Until I see you at Spring Fling,
Sue

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