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Pasta bolognese is an inexpensive, easy-to-make dinner, and everyone who eats it seems to love it.
My youngest son’s birthday is today and I told him that I would make whatever he wanted for dinner. He made his typical, unusual request for a home cooked meal, my pasta bolognese recipe. We went to the Marsh grocery store after school and he put the ingredients into the cart. I thought that this was going to be a recipe for disaster, but he shopped like a pro.
We started in the produce isle and he found and retrieved the basil. Next we went to the gourmet cheese case and he picked out a Chevre goat cheese. Then he reminded me that we needed some red wine and that since he was under 21 I would need to pick that bottle out. I heartily complied. After that, we needed a meat so he picked out ground sirloin, exactly one and a half pounds. Onward we rolled to the tomato isle as he called it to pick out a large can of Red Gold crushed tomatoes. I reminded him that we needed a vegetable and so on he rolled to the frozen foods area. Strangely enough his veg choice was very old school. I mean cafeteria style frozen peas and diced carrots. But since it’s his birthday, so it was his choice. I told him to throw it in.
After making his choices he handed over the reins to me… AKA time to pay. He marveled at the fact that our supplies only came out around $11.00. I marveled too. We could have gone out anywhere to eat, but he chose to have a meal made at home and I think for a minute he realized that there is something to be said for that. We easily could have spent 50 or 60 dollars having dinner out. I rose to accept this “birthday cooking challenge” he issued and off we went in the direction of home.
We made a modified version of my pasta bolognese that my family loves.
I hope you like this pasta bolognese recipe as much as we do.
Total Servings 6
Classic Italian meat sauce that can be altered to use any type of ground meat that you like.
5 minPrep (inc. refrigeration & rest time)
30 minCook Time
35 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground meat (I used sirloin)
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomato’s, I used Red Gold (made in Indiana!)
- 3/4 to 1 C red wine. I used a Burgundy
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TB dried oregano
- 1 small onion, grated (so it’s invisible to picky eaters)
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 TB fennel seed
- 1/2 C torn basil leaves
- goat cheese (optional)
- 1 lb cooked Rigatoni
Instructions
- Drizzle some oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground meat and cook until it’s no longer pink.
- Add grated onion, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, oregano and fennel seed. Saute until heated through. Drain grease if you need to, then add tomatoes. I rinse the inside of the can with a tiny bit of water to thin the sauce.
- I let this simmer for an hour on low, but you could eat it sooner. I was just stalling until my older son was home.
- Pour cooked pasta in to a serving bowl and ladle sauce over the top. Add discs of goat cheese and a generous handful of torn basil leaves over the top.
This is my son’s food trifecta: Pasta bolognese, with a meaty red sauce, plus goat cheese and basil. Pure happiness and definitely a good way to celebrate his eighth year of life.
This is a very easy sauce that can be made with simple pantry staples. It’s an inexpensive and filling meal, and it’s easily modified to your family’s tastes.
