Vodka Bolognese Pasta

Yes, vodka is in the title. But don't let that scare you off this recipe - you don't have to use vodka if you don't drink or the thought of adding vodka to a dish you want to serve the kids just seems wrong; if you prefer to not cook with alcohol just replace it with chicken or beef broth (although it simmers for so long all the alcohol is cooked out so no one is getting drunk eating this delish pasta sauce, it's even ok for kids to eat it!).

I adapted this recipe from the original found here.

Ingredients:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 shallots or 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 3/4 pound ground Italian sausage (mild or spicy)
• salt and pepper
• 1 can (28 oz.) chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme (leaves only, remove from stem)
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup vodka
• 1 parmesan rind, plus grated parmesan for serving

• 1 pound pasta, cooked according to the package. I used tagliatelle noodles.

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the shallot, carrots, and celery, season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and starting to brown. Add the beef and sausage, brown all over, breaking up the meat as you go so there's no big clumps, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, spices, milk, vodka, and the parmesan rind. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine; cover and cook over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Let the sauce cool, then spoon off any grease that is sitting on the top - NOTE: I had quite a bit of grease from the sausage, next time I will drain it off after browning the meat before moving on to adding the tomatoes, etc. Using a spoon I scooped up the obvious pools of grease. You can now refrigerate the sauce and then reheat it about 1/2 hour before serving time, or if you are eating it right away just put it back on the stove top and reheat the sauce.

Remove the parmesan rind. If the sauce is soupy, cook an extra 20-30 minutes uncovered.

To serve, divide the pasta among bowls or plates and ladle the bolognese over top. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.