I knocked it out of the park this weekend with the best bolognese sauce I’ve ever had, thanks to Lidia, my go-to for Italian. I have her cookbook, Lidia’s Favorite Recipes (HIGHLY RECOMMEND), that I pull out for all the classics.
God even posting this makes me want to take the leftovers out of the fridge!
It was actually really simple. Here is what you need:
- 3 tbs EVOO
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 medium carrot, shredded
- 1/2 cup minced celery with leaves
- Salt
- 2 lbs. meatloaf mix
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 tbs tomato paste
- 1 28 oz can pureed tomatoes (I use Hunts or San Marzano)
- 3 fresh bay leaves or 4 dried
- freshly ground pepper
Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven. Add the onion, carrot & celery and cook sauté until translucent. Add the meat and cook through making sure it crumples into fine pieces (you don’t want any lumps or chunks here). There will be a lot of liquid, mostly fat, from the meat, let that evaporate out by continuing to cook and stir < this whole process should take about 12-15 minutes. Pour in the wine, and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan until the wine is evaporated < 3-4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and let everything mix with that before adding the tomatoes. Add the bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste and let it come to a boil. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for as long as you wish, minimum 1.5 hours.
Cook some spaghetti and toss into a pan on low heat adding as much sauce as you need to coat the pasta. Add more when you serve, as desired and top with fresh parmesan.
Bon Apetit!
PS I bought this gold flatware recently to freshen up our everyday dinnerware and I love it!!