ITALIAN BRODO

The following typical "Italian Brodo" (broth) recipe forms the basis of many Italian soups and sauces such as Tortellini en brodo, Passatelli, Minestrone, Ribollita and Ragu Bolognese, among others. You can substitute equal parts chicken broth and beef broth, but if you have the time and the inclination it is worth the effort. It can be frozen (in smaller increments) for later use.

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Ragu Bolognese

During my two extended stays in Bologna, I was fortunate to learn from several of my local friends how to make the "perfect" traditional ragu Bolognese, a sauce that serves as the basis for traditional tagliatelle and lasagna Bolognese. Unlike the American concept of a meat sauce which is basically a tomato sauce with meat, this is just the reverse-a meat sauce with some tomato. Although some people do not use milk to make this, I like the mellow and soft mouth feel it adds to the flavors. I owe a great debt of gratitude to the wonderful friends who generously shared their guarded secret recipes, from which I adapted this one.

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