Bolognese Sauce

This ragu is standard winter fare for us.  It is based upon the recipe for Meat Sauce, Bolognese Style written by Marcella Hazan in The Classic Italian Cook Book.  When I first started making this sauce, I believed that there was only one way to make a bolognese sauce.  I have since learned there are as many ways to make this as there are nonnas in Italy.  Feel free to make any adjustments you like, and I will suggest some as well.  This sauce takes a lot of time (perfect for a cold winter Sunday) but most is unattended.  The original recipe makes one quart, but I figure if I am going to make something that takes a long time, I will make extra for the freezer!  I serve this sauce with rigatoni, see the recipe for Rigatoni Bolognese.  

Makes 3 quarts

Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1/4 pound pancetta chopped
1 medium onion - coarsely chopped
2 stalks of celery - coarsely chopped
1 carrot - coarsely chopped
1 pound ground veal
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I prefer 93% lean - and you may use all beef or a mixture of pork, veal and beef)
1 bottle dry white wine (may use red wine if you prefer)
1 1/2 cups milk 
2 28 ounce cans of tomatoes (some recipes use a large can of tomato paste and water)
Kosher salt
Red pepper flakes
2-3 teaspoons dried oregano - optional
1-2 tablespoons dried basil - optional
Parmesan cheese rind - optional

Equipment:
Food processor
5-6 quart dutch oven - I use a #26 Le Creuset

Directions:
1.  Coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil and heat over a medium heat.  
2.  Add garlic, pancetta, onions, celery and carrot in the food processor and puree to a coarse paste.  

3.  Add the pureed vegetables to the pan with a generous pinch of salt and cook over medium heat until the vegetables have softened and the liquid they have given off is evaporated, about 30 minutes.

4.  Turn the heat up to medium high.  Add the veal and beef to the pot and cook until no pink remains, about 10 minutes.

5.  Turn the heat up to high and add the bottle of wine.  cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine has evaporated, about one hour.

6.  Turn the heat back to medium and add the milk.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the milk has evaporated, about 30 minutes.

7.  Add the tomatoes to the food processor and chop coarsely.  Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the herbs.  Taste and adjust the seasoning for salt and pepper.

8.  Simmer the sauce over low to medium low heat with the sauce barely bubbling, stirring occasionally for 4-5 hours.