Recipe Swap: Bolognese Sauce
Jon usually cooks when we are going to have "meatsauce," so I was excited to give this a try. Just from reading the recipe I knew it would be a lot different than his. Fancier, if you will.
I made the recipe exactly as it was shared, except for the amount of time it cooked. This is a weeknight (quick) bolognese, but since I made it on a Sunday, I let it simmer for about 45 minutes in addition to the cooking time required by the recipe. However, it's really nice to know that this is a great sauce recipe that could be made in just 30-40 minutes, if needed.
I really liked this - it was hearty and tasted like something that had cooked and simmered all day. The one change I'd made next time is that I would not add the remaining 1/4 c of wine at the end. I could still taste a lot of the wine as it didn't really have time to cook off. But other than that, I loved everything about the recipe, even the use of cream! I never would have thought to add cream to a tomato sauce unless I was making a pink sauce.
Dawn, thanks for sharing this one!
Bolognese Sauce
Source: Simple Gourmet Cooking
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1¼ cups dry red wine, divided
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 pound dried pasta, such as shells
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground meat into the pan and cook until no longer pink and starting to brown, 5-7 minutes, breaking up the meat.
- Stir in the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add 1 cup of the wine to the pan and stir, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. I had time, so I let it simmer for an additional 45 minutes over low heat.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, finish the sauce. Stir in the nutmeg, basil, cream, and remaining ¼ cup wine. Simmer for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
- When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss with the warm sauce and grated Parmesan until well coated. Serve with additional Parmesan if desired.
Check out the other Celebrity Chef Recipes shared in this Recipe Swap -
