Spaghetti à la Bolognese

Claudine, Gloria, and I all make different versions of spaghetti Bolognese, and Shorey loves them all. My mother used to make it with leftover roast, finely chopped, and I have made it with crushed leftover meatballs or meat loaf. I like teaching Shorey how to be economical in the kitchen.

It is sometimes difficult to combine the meat with the other ingredients without lumps forming. To prevent this, I put the meat in a bowl, add some of the chicken stock, and crush the meat into the stock with my fingers. As the meat gets wet, it becomes a smooth mixture without lumps. Then I add it to the pot with the remainder of the ingredients and proceed with the cooking.

I cook the spaghetti and season it separately from the Bolognese sauce, then serve it with the sauce on top.

Serves 4

• Sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup diced (½-inch) onion
• ½ cup diced (½-inch) carrot
• ½ cup diced (½-inch) celery
• 1 ½ tablespoons chopped garlic
• 12 ounces ground beef
• 1 cup homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
• One 14-ounce can plum tomatoes in puree
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 small serrano pepper, seeded and chopped, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon shredded fresh sage leaves
• ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pasta
• 12 ounces spaghetti, preferably imported
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

For the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the ground beef in a bowl, add ½ cup of the stock, and crush the meat with your hands to separate it. Put the tomatoes in another bowl and coarsely crush them with your hands.

Add the meat and stock mixture to the saucepan, along with the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients, including the remaining ½ cup stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook very gently for 1 hour. (Makes 4 to 5 cups sauce.)

Meanwhile, for the pasta: When ready to cook the pasta, bring 4 quarts salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta to the water, stir well, and cook for about 9 minutes, until al dente (or to your liking).

Scoop out ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot, add the reserved cooking water, the oil, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

Divide the pasta among four warm plates and pour a good cup of the Bolognese sauce on top of each serving. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chives and serve immediately.

To see how it’s done, go to www.surlatable.com/jacquespepin.