The omission of tomatoes renders this a white Bolognese, but make no mistake, it’s still excellent with red wine. You can prepare the hearty and flavorful sauce a few days in advance and reheat it, but you will probably need to add additional chicken stock. Developed for Molesini Wine Club, the recipe is included in the wine shipment so members can make the dish to enjoy during their virtual wine tastings.

Pasta with White Bolognese Sauce

Serves 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) olive oil
1 stalk celery, finely minced
1 carrot, finely minced
1 medium yellow onion, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) red pepper flakes
¾ pound (340 grams) ground beef
½ pound (225 grams) Italian sausage
8 fresh sage leaves finely minced, plus additional leaves for frying
2 cups (500 milliliters) dry white wine
2 cups (500 milliliters) chicken stock, plus more as needed
salt and pepper to taste

To serve

1 pound (480 grams) dry pasta, such as pici, bucatini, tagliatelle, pappardelle, fusilli, or rigatoni, cooked per package instructions, drained, then returned to cooking pot
olive oil for drizzling
grated Parmesan
sage leaves fried until crisp in oil and drained, optional

Directions

1. Warm olive oil in a large saucepan. Add celery, carrot, onion, and garlic to olive oil and sauté over medium to low heat until tender, about 8 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, both meats, and minced sage leaves. Raise heat to medium-high and sauté until the meat is no longer pink. Use a flat wooden spoon to break up the meat into uniform pieces as it cooks. Adjust heat so the vegetables do not brown. 

2. Add white wine, increase heat, and boil until reduced to about ½ cup (125 milliliters). Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Add additional stock if sauce seems too dry. Simmer for about 25 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. Toss with cooked pasta and serve with olive oil drizzle, grated Parmesan cheese, and optional fried sage leaves as garnish.

About Molesini Wine Club

This recipe was developed for Molesini Wine Club to be included in virtual tasting notes with wine shipments. Molesini Wine Club, based out of Cortona, Tuscany, features Italian wines that are otherwise unavailable outside of Europe. Marco and Paolo Molesini work closely with over 1,000 producers from across the country to ensure they are procuring the top labels from small producers making the finest boutique wines. Explore with them as they lead you through Tuscany, Piedmont, Sicily, and many lesser-known wine regions of their country. Members can customize shipments, decide on a tier that fits their palate best, and enjoy exclusive access to the most stunning wines of Italy. As a member of the Molesini Wine Club means becoming part of the Molesini family and we invite you to join us for this experience. For more information, please visit the Molesini Wine Club website.