Note from Jess: The blog post below is one of the first recipes we ever shared on PWWB back in 2016 – we’ve come a long way since then! If you’d like to learn more about my time working in a fine dining Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, I invite you to give it a read! 😊 If you’re looking for the most up-to-date version of my “fauxlognese,” a dish that I’m just as smitten with 7 years(!) later, you can find it here: Best-Ever Turkey Bolognese. Thanks for being here! xx
in the years immediately following my college graduation, i worked as a server in a family-run italian fine dining spot in downtown milwaukee, zarletti. working as a service professional might not be what most consider to be a glamorous gig for a college grad, but i loved every minute of it. despite the weird hours & the high pressure environment, waiting tables was the best way to learn about life, food & wine, & myself in my early twenties.
i think much of my growth during this period came as a result of the fact that zarletti is a real-deal family-run joint. owner, brian, is one of the most loyal & generous people i have come across & despite having found success in a handful of restaurant ventures, he is still completely hands-on at the restaurant. he has a beautiful heart & takes his staff in, welcoming them as his own family. the zarletti family is a tight-knit tribe & i think it totally comes across in the intimate dining experience they offer.
if you’re ever in milwaukee, you must stop by zarletti. it is such a gem.
highlighting the flavors & wine of the northern regions of italy, zarletti brings modern sophistication to rustic italian cooking. despite having plenty of modern italian dishes, zarletti’s respect for classic italian technique is evident as you peruse the menu – a seriously bad ass antipasti platter, a signature osso bucco, a rotating scratch-made ravioli (butternut squash with brown butter is seriously the bomb), & a ragu della casa with hand-cut parpadelle pasta made in house.
one of the dishes the serving staff at zarletti always highlights to guests as a house specialty is the ragu della casa.
the inevitable question ALWAYS to follow: “uhh, what is ragu??” guests usually wanted to know into which one of two buckets ragu fell: red sauce or white sauce.
ragu, however, is on its own in a stand alone category. it’s a slowly simmered meat sauce meant to highlight whatever meat you’re using. it has veggies & it has tomatoes, but it also has some wine, lots of aromatics, & a splash of cream. the lot of it is slowly simmered for hours to develop a rich depth of flavor.
zarletti always serves 2 ragus: one a traditional beef & pork bolognese & the other a rotating option – highlighting anything from wild boar to duck (a guest favorite!). always served on hand-cut parpadelle pasta made right in house, these ragus are a a guest favorite & are definitely among of zarletti’s well-known specialty dishes.
the bolognese also made its way straight to the center of my italian food loving heart. i would eat the bolognese with parpadelle all the time as my shift meal & it will forever go down in history as my all-time favorite dishes. when i left behind my server’s aprons at zarletti to make some moves into the corporate world, bolognese was the first recipe i set out to master in my own kitchen.
both rustic & elegant at the same time, pasta bolognese is so, so easy to make at home, requiring nothing more than a high-quality flavorful meat, pantry staples, aromatics, vino & some tlc.
confession: my bolognese is really a fauxlognese, using ground turkey instead of the classic 1:1 combination of ground veal & ground pork. when i cook at home, i like to lighten things up when it makes sense to do so & doesn’t compromise the recipe & this is totally one of those cases.
while meant to highlight a beautiful meat, the flavor for a bolognese is really built with the initial sauté of the veg. i use onions & a ton of carrots, but you could also throw in some celery or fennel if it tickles your fancy. traditionally you chop these veggies up into the teeniest tiniest little itty bitty pieces imaginable & really brown the crap outta them. because i love the rustic texture that the carrots add to the sauce, so i depart from tradition & opt for a larger dice (ain’t nobody got time to brunoise at home).
once your veggies & meat are browned, the next oh-so-important steps are a delicate dance of adding aromatics liquid & simmering the sauce down slowly to reduce, resulting in a rich, flavor bomb of a sauce. it’s a slow process, but is very low-maintenance, requiring low heat & minimal stirring.
oh, & just throwing this out there, but while the bolognese is simmering, you should totally pour yourself a glass of wine. italian cooking is all about enjoying the process #justsaying.
once it’s done simmering, you can serve right away with pasta or store in the fridge for 4-5 days to enjoy throughout the week for a quick weeknight dinner. the bolognese also freezes incredibly well, so you can totally make a big batch ahead of time & prolong the enjoyment of the fruits of your labor.
the best part about bolognese is that its flavors only meld & develop over time, so it is the perfect make ahead dish for a lazy meal prep sunday afternoon.
when you’re ready to serve, simply reheat the bolognese in a pan to low simmer. add a splash (or two) of heavy cream to cut through the richness & toss in your favorite pasta.
for bolognese, i love bucatini. it’s a thick, long pasta that stands up to the hearty bolognese perfectly. what makes bucatini distinct is its hole straight through the middle, which when tossed with the bolognese traps some of the sauce making every bite burst with flavor.
top with some fresh basil & an extra sprinkle of parmesan & you will have yourself the best italian meal you could imagine, all in the comfort of your own home.
you can also use this bolognese to make my best-ever weeknight lasagna, another recipe that comes together in a snap with just a little prep, & delivers on classic italian flavor with no guilt. check it out!
i hope you’re craving some italian comfort food now, but i would love to know – what’s your favorite comfort food recipe to make at home? is it your favorite because of a link to special people or a special time in your life? let me know in the comments below & let’s chat!