Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Bolognese Sauce (Meat Sauce)

This is my recipe for meat sauce --it may not be the most authentic version of a Bolognese sauce, but those who have eaten it have raved, so hopefully you'll like it too!

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb Italian sweet sausage
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion diced
6-8 large garlic cloves, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 cup of dry red wine
3 large cans of Italian crushed tomatoes
2 - 3 tbsp. dried oregano
2 - 3 tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp. of salt

Brown the beef and sausage (which you should remove from the casings) in olive oil, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon as you cook it. When it's fully cooked, add the onion, garlic, and all the spices, and continue to saute until the onions and garlic become translucent, but not browned.

At this point, drain off the extra fat from the oil and sausage, and add the red wine and simmer until it's just about fully absorbed by the meat and veggies. Then add the tomato paste, and stir thoroughly through the mixture. Cook this for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until it takes on an auburn color -- it really riches up the flavor a lot.

Then add the crushed tomatoes, stir through thoroughly, cover the pot, set the flame or burner as low as it will go, and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Toward the end of the cooking time, taste the sauce and see if you think it needs more of any seasonings -- add to taste. If for some reason, the sauce is a bit bitter or "sharp" add a tablespoon of honey and stir throughout.

NOTE -- if you don't want pork, just add more beef, but sprinkle in 1 tbsp. of fennel seeds to get that sausage flavor.

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