hot salad & other stories: bowl of cozy

Usually this time of year, the cold is justified by layer of snow. The ground is still bare and brown, the wind is relentless, and the tea kettle is always on. Last week a friend made an immense amount of bolognese, and this week I did the same. The warmth of a bowl of bolognese and pasta is like a much needed hug against the chill. I made one giant pot early in the week that has been repurposed and reheated almost every day. Honestly, I think it’s one of those things that gets better and develops more with time. This recipe is based on Marcella Hazan’s. I add miso for salt and depth of flavor.

BOLOGNESE
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 lbs ground beef or 1:1 beef and pork
2 tbsp miso paste
1 cup whole milk
Nutmeg
1 cup dry white wine
1 16 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 16 oz can whole tomatoes

- In a large pot over medium heat, add the butter, onion, and a few glugs of olive oil. Stir occasionally until the onion becomes translucent and soft.
- Add the celery and carrot. Cook together for a few minutes.
- Add the meat, miso, and a few cracks of pepper, and cook until the meat is no longer visibly raw, but lightly brown all over. I like breaking up the meat a little bit with a spoon, but leaving it mainly in large chunks almost like meatballs.
- Pour in the milk. Add a tiny pinch of nutmeg and stir. Cook until the milk has almost entirely disappeared.
- Add the wine and tomatoes, stirring everything to combine. Leave the bolognese to cook on the lowest of low heat setting that you can get, so that it gently bubbles. Leave it like this for 2–4 hours, adding a splash of water if it starts to dry out on the side. Taste for salt.
- Serve over your pasta of choice, with lots of grated parmesan, chopped parsley, and chile flakes.

silly rendition of spaghetti n bolognese

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Sprinkles: Why buy store-bought sprinkles when you could make them while watching a whole movie? Whisk together 1 egg white with 1 heaping cup of powdered sugar and a few drops of food coloring (or use powders to color your sprinkles, like matcha for green, beet for red…). It should be pretty runny and totally smooth. Pour the mixture into a piping bag (plastic or parchment work), and pipe long lines onto a sheet pan lined with parchment. Let dry over night, then break them up into sprinkle sized pieces!

What the trout eat: Turns out you can still go fly fishing during the winter, and it’s exactly as cold as you’d think it is. The size of flies we’re using are so small, the whole thing could fit on your pinky fingernail. Why a trout thinks that these super small insects are worth spending the energy on is beyond me, but everyone has to eat. In waders, walking through the near-freezing water is still fun, the chase of the fish and the potential of catching one is worth it.
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Stay warm