Marcella Hazan's Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2/3 cup chopped celery
• 2/3 cup chopped carrot
• 3/4 lb ground beef chuck (or 1 part pork to 2 parts beef)
• Salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb pasta
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving

Instructions

1. Put the oil, 3 tablespoons butter, and chopped onion in a pot and turn the heat to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
2. Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well, and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
3. Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add the nutmeg and stir.
4. Add the wine and let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well.
5. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time.
6. While the sauce is cooking, if it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Stir to mix the fat into the sauce, taste, and correct for salt.
7. Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.