A Traditional Sauce

Ok, so I scoured the net for a traditional Bolognese sauce recipe because I wanted to attempt a traditional version. The recipe, however, uses diced pancetta -- which wasn't available at the local Food Mart. So I substituted diced ham. Probably bacon would work too. Also, it calls for wine... but since I never have wine around the house or even know what kind to use for cooking, I skipped it. There's not a whole lot of tomato in this either. They say that Bolognese is not a tomato sauce with meat. It's a meat sauce with a bit of tomato in it.

Here's my "on the cheap" and simplified version...

Bolognese Sauce

1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced celery
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package diced ham (about 8 oz.)
1 lb. ground pork
1 cup whole milk
1 can tomato sauce
olive oil
salt and pepper


Fry ham in olive oil for a few minutes until it sizzles. Add carrots, celery, and onions and mix and fry until vegetables are translucent. Mix salt and pepper into ground pork and add pork into vegetable/ham mix. Stir until pork crumbles and browns. There should be some liquid still in the pot from the oil, meat and vegetables. Add tomato sauce and garlic. Then add whole milk gradually, slowly mixing it in and stirring well each time.

I made only the sauce tonight to make it easy on myself. Tomorrow, I'll cook up the spaghetti and serve the dish with garlic bread.