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My Best Ever Bolognese Sauce- you know when you say something is your BEST, it better really be your best. Well this recipe, ladies and gentlemen, is my best. It is my go-to, my people pleaser, my dinner party star and my bragging rights. This recipe is good. Not only is it good, but it is easy. Trust me on this, I do not lie about pasta sauce {or at all frankly}.
I just love these little serving dishes! They help me keep my portions in check. This particular white dish came from Zesco: Hall China Au Gratin
I first learned of this sauce when a friend of mine and I were reading a book by chef and author Kathleen Flinn called- The Sharper the Knife the Less You Cry. It is a story of the author’s culinary journey in life and in culinary school. Read it if you like foodie books. You will laugh, cry and become inspired.
In this book Kathleen shares this recipe and since I first read it I have made it no less than 12 times. I remember this number because this recipe uses a whole bottle of red wine, you tend to remember those details. Use a full bodied red, not the 3 Buck Chuck sludge from a popular grocery store. Use something you would drink.
Because I want my kids to eat this and one of my sons is picky- I use a box grater to shred the heck out of the onions in this dish. so because of that I use 1 very large onion instead of 2 as the recipe calls for. I also add 5 cloves of garlic and when the recipe is complete I add in 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds. That last part is for my husband who loves fennel seeds and thinks all Bolognese sauce’s need those darn seeds. Can you tell I don’t love them?
Be sure to use a beefy, lean ground beef. You want that rich beef flavor. I must really mean this since I used the word beef more than once in this paragraph which is a huge pet peeve for me.
Be sure to give yourself 2-3 hours of cooking time in your schedule. This is best made on the weekend and reheated later in the week OR made as soon so you get home from work. I need to remember that not everyone eats dinner at 4:30 pm like me!
Ingredients
- 2 large onions, chopped (I grated 1 very large onion)
- 2 TB olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped (I used 5)
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 bottle dry red wine
- 4 TB tomato paste (I used a 6 oz can)
- 1 tsp Italian herbs (I used 2 tsp)
- 1 C heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 TB fresh parsley, chopped (I used 3 TB parsley, 2 TB chopped basil)
- 1 lb pasta, cooked and drained
- Parmesan cheese garnish
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, brown the onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, add the beef and stir until the meat starts to cook and has a small crumble.
- Add the wine and raise the heat to a simmer.
- Cook until wine reduces by half.
- Reduce heat to low, add the tomato paste and stir.
- Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours.
- Stir from time to time.
- Right before serving stir in the cream, herbs and taste to determine if salt/pepper is needed.
- Remove from heat and add the fresh herbs.
- Serve over pasta and dust with Parmesan cheese.
