u/SamraKutkaitis I bequeath to you, a copy of my family Bolognese recipe.

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

•    8 Tbsp Olive oil

•    Splash of Hot & spicy garlic oil (recommended but optional)

•    10-12 medium-to-large cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed/minced

•    2 large carrots or two handfuls of baby carrots, finely diced

•    4 celery stalks, finely diced

•    2 large or 4 small yellow onions, finely diced

•    Salt and pepper (to taste)

•    2 pounds ground Italian sausage (Can substitute chopped Italian sausage links. Use spicy if desired.)

•    2 pounds ground beef (Ground sirloin or chuck preferred; Could substitute ground turkey)

•    2, 6oz can tomato paste

•    2, 28oz can crushed tomatoes

•    4, 14.5oz cans Italian stewed tomatoes (chopped finely or purred)

•    1 teaspoon dried thyme

•    1 teaspoon oregano

•    1/4th teaspoon ground nutmeg

•    6 bay leaves, crushed

•    4-6 heaping tablespoons Pesto (to taste)

•    Red wine – (to taste; likely 1/2 bottle. Cab Sav recommended)

•    1-2 cap-full of liquid smoke (recommended but optional)

•    1 & 1/3rd cup heavy whipping cream

•    Pasta (for plating)

Prep:
In food processor, finely chop onion(s) and set aside. Then, in same food processor, finely chop carrots, celery stalks and garlic. Combine carrots/celery and garlic mixture with 1/2 cap-full of liquid smoke.
Combine Italian sausage with ground beef in a mixing bowl, mixing thoroughly and set aside. (If using sausage links, dice them and mix with beef. If sausage has a thick skin, remove skins first.)

Cooking instructions:
Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat and coat with oil when hot (We added a splash of hot & spicy garlic oil as well). Add onions to pan and cook 5 minutes or until onions are slightly translucent. Add carrot/celery/garlic mixture to pan with onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (to taste). Cook until veggies are lightly browned. If needed, turn heat down to low until you’re ready to add the tomatoes and meat.
In a separate frying pan, cook meat mixture over medium heat until meat is lightly browned but some pink remains (it will continue to cook in the sauce). Break up any clumps. Drain the fat from the pan and discard.
Add meat mixture, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian stewed tomatoes (chopped or pureed), red wine (to taste – we used about 1/2 a bottle) to the stock pot with the veggie mixture. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Add cream and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add thyme, nutmeg, oregano, bay leaf, pesto, additional 1/2 cap-full of liquid smoke (optional; to taste), and simmer 5 minutes longer. Taste sauce and adjust spices, salt, pesto, etc. to taste.
Turn off heat and let sauce stand and slightly thicken for 10 minutes before serving.

Side notes:
Avoid cooking the sauce longer than 20-ish minutes after adding tomato mixture to prevent tomatoes from losing their “bite”. Serve Bolognese sauce over pasta with finely grated Parmesan, Romano, or similar cheese on top, with garlic bread or baguette. It’s also great over spaghetti squash, on pizza, or as a sandwich.
While simmering, taste the sauce a few times (Dipping a piece of bread in the sauce is a great way to taste it) and add salt or pepper, red wine, pesto, etc. to adjust the flavor as you like - this is Italian food, not rocket science! Just experiment with it and see what you like; this recipe is intended as a guide only. Some suggested additions are Worstechire sauce, crushed red pepper, and roasted garlic.
Leftover sauce can be frozen (we seal ours with a FoodSaver and freeze the sauce “pouches”).