Easy Pasta Bolognese Recipe
Easy Pasta Bolognese will elevate any weeknight dinner to a gourmet experience! This comforting Italian classic is a great recipe to have in your back pocket.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut in small dice
- 1 small hot Italian pepper, minced (if you don't have one you can use red pepper flakes, about 1/2 tsp)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground Angus beef, 85%
- 1 lb ground pork
- 26 ounces crushed or pureed Italian tomatoes (I like San Marzano tomatoes)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste, I always keep a tube in the fridge
- 1/2 cup red wine (also use Marsala, or cognac)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream (cream makes the sauce luxurious)
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, not traditional, but my secret ingredient
- 1 pound pappardelle pasta
garnish
- fresh Parmigiano Reggiano
- fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Cover the bottom of a heavy pot with olive oil and saute the onion, carrots, pepper and garlic for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. This is an important step towards developing the special flavors of the sauce, so don't skip it. Add more oil if the vegetables start to stick and stir frequently.
- Add in the ground meats and cook until they are browned. While it is browning, break up the meat well, so there are no large chunks. Then add in the wine, tomatoes, and paste, along with the bay leaves and the fresh thyme leaves. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste (start with 1 tsp of each)
- Cover and simmer for about 2 hours on a low heat. (Make sure the sauce is simmering slowly, not boiling furiously.) Add the milk or cream and Worcestershire sauce during the last half hour of cooking. Leave the top off during that time to thicken it.
- When the sauce is done, remove the bay leaves, and check the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper if you like. The sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.
- Cook the pasta to an al dente stage according to the package directions and drain. Reserve a cup or so of the cooking liquid in case you need to loosen the sauce later.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and toss with tongs to coat, then heap into big pasta bowls and garnish with some fresh cheese and thyme.
Notes
- If you have the time, by all means cook this sauce, covered, for up to 3 hours on a low heat.
- This sauce gets better with age, so it makes wonderful leftovers. There's nothing like coming home to a fridgeful of pasta Bolognese after a busy day ~ nothing!
Nutrition
Calories: 615 kcal · Carbohydrates: 54 g · Protein: 31 g · Fat: 29 g · Saturated Fat: 10 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 14 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 129 mg · Sodium: 319 mg · Potassium: 965 mg · Fiber: 5 g · Sugar: 8 g · Vitamin A: 3060 IU · Vitamin C: 25 mg · Calcium: 122 mg · Iron: 5 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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