As I’ve started making more and more homemade food, I’ve taken a hard look at what I cook to try and find ways I can make it better. One thing I noticed was that all my homemade pasta deserved a nice, homemade sauce to go along with it. Enter my version of bolognese.
I know, I know, it isn’t real bolognese, but it isn’t just everyday tomato sauce either. I think this fits somewhere in-between, and it is my go-to sauce whenever I make homemade pasta.
Update 2018-03-03: This is a recipe I constantly improvise on, and the version I’ve settled on is a bit different than what I have posted here. Click here for my better bolognese sauce
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or microplaned
- 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 2 large cans tomato sauce
- 2 fresh tomatoes (optional)
- 1-2 lb. ground meat, browned
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (optional)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
- seasonings
- salt
- pepper
- oregano
- thyme
- basil
- red pepper flakes
Equipment
- large dutch oven or large pot
Process
- Heat butter or oil in dutch oven until shimmering. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, cook until aromatic, about 1 minute.
- Add tomato sauce, stock (if using), tomatoes (if using), and meat. Heat to a simmer, and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
- Add the cream (if using) and stir well.
Serve with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- 2016-02-20 - Good as always!