Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Bolognese Sauce - my version














I love a slow cooked, homemade, thick sauce. It kicks jarred sauce ass any time! But life with 2 kids and 2 full time working parents it doesn't always happen this way. However my baby boy was home sick recently and during nap time I was able to get the sauce going. And after melding for a few days in my fridge it was delicious! The prep time really isn't that bad. It just has to cook 2-3 hours (at least) so you can't really plan to go anywhere but on days when you are home with a sick baby, this is a good day to do it.

2 TBSP olive oil
2 shallots, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 large can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP dried basil
Salt & pepper
1 lb. ground beef (90/10)

Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron pot. Add in the carrot, celery and shallots and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add in the garlic and shallots, cook another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a separate pan, brown the ground beef and drain. Set aside.

In the pot, mix in the tomato paste and water in with the vegetables and cook 7-10 minutes on a low heat.

Once the tomato and vegetable mixture has thickened a bit, add in the two large cans of tomatoes and dried herbs, and salt & pepper to taste. Stir everything together and cook for one hour on a low heat, barely simmering. Stir every 15 minutes or so.

After an hour, add in the ground beef and cook another 1-2 hours until desired thickness.

It's best if you let the sauce sit at least overnight before serving to really get everything mixed together.

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

I love bolognese, but like you said, I rarely make it because it takes so long. Whenever I eat it, though, I always end up wishing I made it more often. I think it's the ultimate comfort food. Yours looks delicious!