sunday night meals: perfect bolognese
it’s no secret around these parts (or any parts, really) that i looove me some carbs. more specifically, pasta. as in, i’m sure i would be really really thin if i gave up pasta. i would look like a miniature version of myself. and i’d probably have b cup boobs (let’s be real, a cups are out of the question). and while both of those things would be really wonderful for my self image, they’d also make me a sad sack of a person, because honestly, WHO WANTS TO LIVE WITHOUT PASTA?!
not i. i think all those people who swear paleo food is delicious and “going gluten free” is the shit are LYING.
why? because there’s nothing like digging into a giant steaming bowl of pasta. pasta is an antidote to sadness, to madness, to anxiety and to stress. it’s like a hug in a ceramic bowl – and this bolognese recipe is no different. comprised from not just one but three types of meat (bacon, italian sausage, and ground sirloin), it’s sure to create a serious ‘happy in my mouth’ moment. it also makes your home smell incredible while it simmers on the stove, and makes people think you’re an all around domestic goddess.
see? i told you i could never give up pasta.
one of my favorite things to do on sunday afternoons is to wile away the hours in the kitchen. i can dice, chop, and simmer with the best of them, and there’s something almost meditative about slicing onions and chopping fresh rosemary into teeny tiny bits of flavor. this past sunday, i put on spotify’s “your favorite coffeehouse” playlist (the best, i tell you, i listen to it all day long at work) and got to work, and by 7pm, i’d taken a spin class, taken a bath, cooked this amazing meal alongside a batch of peppermint bark brownies (omg, i can’t even tell you about the goodness), and was ready to plop on my couch for an SVU marathon.
a good sunday, indeed.
so, let’s cook, shall we?
what you’ll need:
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium stalks of celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 lb dry rub bacon, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
1/2 lb spicy (or mild) italian pork sausage, casings removed
1/2 lb ground sirloin
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 28 oz can of tomatoes, diced or whole
1/2 cup dry white wine (sav blanc or pino grigio both work well)
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, washed and chopped (or 1 tbsp dried)
1 tsp fresh thyme, washed and chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, washed and chopped (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 tbsp fresh oregano, washed and chopped (or 1 tbsp dried)
2 bay leaves, dried
what you’ll do:
start by dicing your mirepoix (a fancy french word for carrots, celery and onions), as well as your garlic.
put a large pan on the stove – a dutch oven like this one is great, but you can also just use a large soup pot if you don’t have anything le creuset-like (you just need to be able to cover the pot to simmer it later on.
sauté your mirepoix and garlic in the olive oil for about 5-7 minutes, or until soft.
add your chopped bacon and auté on medium heat 3-4 minutes, breaking up the chunks.
do the same with your sausage. then do the same with your ground sirloin – make sure it’s evenly browned (but not fully cooked).
add tomato paste, wine, chicken broth, and your 28 oz can of tomatoes* (i like chopped because i’m lazy, but whole is thought to be better – who knows why?). mix thoroughly, add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer, covered, for about 15-20 minutes. things are going to start to smell realllly good.
add your herbs: basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, etc. you can really throw in any herbs you’ve got laying around – they’ll add more flavor; it’s hard to go wrong. i love thyme and rosemary, so i always use those, and bay leaves are sort of like a magical ingredient. you put ’em in, simmer, take ’em out, and VOILA, flavor blast.
simmer an additional 10 minutes. remove bay leaves.
at this point, you’re ready to serve – but the longer you simmer this stuff, the better, so long as you do so on really low heat. i let my sauce simmer for about 45 extra minutes, and let’s just say, it didn’t do the bolognese any harm.
when you’re ready to dine, serve over pasta (i love penne or rigatoni to catch all the meaty bits, but spaghetti would look nice too), and grate fresh parmesan cheese atop your delectable dish. now, dig in, enjoy, and try not to guilt yourself for eating so many carbs. what, that’s just me?
*some recipes call for no canned tomatoes, just tomato paste. if you omit the canned tomatoes, you’ll end up with a less sauce-y sauce – more meat with a little bit of tomato. i like my meat sauces pretty sauce-y, so i always throw in the extra canned tomatoes (you could use fresh too!)
sweet studio 