This is a easy bolognese recipe! But just what is bolognese? It might not be what you think…
Read this mouth watering recipe and you will find out!
Bolognese Sauce is a classic Italian sauce. Ground meat and coarsely chopped vegetables give this bolognese recipe a rich and hearty taste that serves well over pasta and in lasagna.
Take 50 minutes out of your day and you could have a delicious bolognese sauce that is to die for! It is just that good!
Did you know that the earliest record of bolognese comes from the late 1800s, from a town just outside of the Italian city of Bologna, yes the same place as the lunch meat.
Traditional preparation of a bolognese sauce starts with sweating the trinity of vegetables, carrots, onions and celery, in a large sauce pot. The addition of tomatoes, herbs, wine and milk (or cream) finishes off the sauce before ground meat is added, making it a traditional ragu.
While in a bolognese recipe ground beef is nearly always a main ingredient, ground pork, pancetta (or bacon) and veal are also commonly used. I like to add a few crumbled Italian sausages or even a chorizo link for smoky flavor and a little spice.
Garlic is also absent from the original versions of Bolognese Sauce, but I love garlic and can’t fathom leaving it out. Garlic just shouts Italian food!
This bolognese sauce recipe is simplified, leaving out long hours of simmering that does build flavor, but takes a lot of time. I also omitted the milk and made wine optional.
Bolognese Sauce in the US is commonly seen on menus as “Spaghetti Bolognese” but rarely (never) served in Italy. In fact, it is forbidden to serve or even mention Bolognese Sauce being served over spaghetti within the limits of Bologna, the namesake city.
Instead, Bolognese Sauce serves best with wide, flat noodles such as tagliatelle or pappardelle or tube-shaped like penne or rigatoni. Also use it in lasagna or ladle over stuffed shells.
If you liked this recipe, check out some of these other easy pasta recipes:
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Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef lean
- 2 links hot Italian sausage removed from casing and crumbled
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup white onion chopped
- 1/2 cup carrots chopped
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 28 ounces crushed tomato
- 6 leaves basil
- 1/2 cup red wine optional
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- Pasta of Choice cooked
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven or sauce pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and crumbled sausage. Continue to break apart and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Drain and set meat aside.
- In the same Dutch oven or sauce pot,heat extra virgin olive oil. Add chopped onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Sweat for 4-5 minutes, or until soft. Add remaining ingredients, including cooked ground meat. Stir well.
- Simmer on low for 30 minutes and serve over pasta of choice.
The flavor of this bolognese sauce is so robust that I am not afraid to use it on any kind of pasta as they would all absorb its delicious taste!
This sauce is so hearty and delicious! A new favorite pasta night essential for me!