Gina's Authentic Bolognese Sauce

For my recipe buddies, and anybody else who is tired of the same-'ol, same-'ol.

It's oh-so-delicious!!!!! This is absolutely a family favorite here in our household! We had it lastnight. Yummmmm!!!! (Bonus, Jake loves it!)

I had it at a friend's friend's house for dinner many years ago. They were an Italian family, and everything about the meal reminded me of completely authentic Italian cuisine, as far as I know... for example, the order of courses, the cool cheese grater (grates in bulk!), the large spoon served with fork to twirl the Spaghetti into. (Which explains why I named it "Gina's Authentic") The meal was soooo wonderful, that I couldn't stop thinking about it for the next 4 months. I finally saw her at a housewarming party (at said mutual friend's home), where I finally had my chance to exchange emails and get the recipe. YES!

What's funny is that it's so different from the "traditional" (Americanized?) Spaghetti sauce, that I didn't even recognize what I was eating. It was so fresh and light and flavorful. So when I asked her about it, I was trying to describe it... "you know that meal you made, with pasta and it had meat and carrots and tomatoes, and this really good flavor?" She must've thought I was from a different planet!!! LOL

So here is the recipe. There are a few "optionals" in there. I do them ALL because I want it to taste exactly like hers. I also DOUBLE the recipe. Because we like a lot more sauce with our pasta, and we LOVE leftovers.

1 lb. ground meat (She uses half ground pork and half ground beef... it's a good flavor, I don't want to try it any other way!)
2 carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 stalks of celery, chopped into small pieces
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
about 3 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 peeled tomatoes, chopped (may use the ones in the can)
salt and pepper to taste
(optional: pinch nutmeg)
(optional: 2 Tbsp butter)

In a frying pan, put olive oil & start to saute' the meat. Brown without burning. Add carrots, celery & onion and saute' a little longer. Add tomatoes & saute' a few more minutes. Add about 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until all of the water dries. Add salt & pepper. (Add optional ingredients at this point: the nutmeg & butter)

Boil spaghetti (or any kind of short fat pasta, like rigatoni, penne or ziti.) Put salt into the pasta. When it's cooked, take out 1 cup of the water & set aside. Drain all water & pour the Bolognese Sauce on top. Stir and sprinkle with cheese. If it's too dry, you can add a little of the reserved water from the cooked pasta. (P.S. I've never had to do this step because I'm never patient enough to simmer it until all the water has dried. I've actually started decreasing the quantity of water added to sauce so I don't have to wait as long... it takes a while for 3 cups to evaporate! I use about 1 1/2 cups. We also serve noodles & sauce separately, personal preference.)

She adds (though I haven't tried it): You may also put the pasta into a baking pan after you put the sauce on it, with the cheese. Add about a cup of chopped up mozzarella cheese and put in oven until mozzarella melts.

Enjoy!!

P.S. Sorry no pictures lately. The camera is around somewhere... it moves from bag to purse to diaperbag to car... but it's never where I want it to be when I actually want to use it!