Bolognese
If I could pick one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would for sure be bolognese. It’s delicious and it’s the ultimate comfort food. Not to mention, it’s one of my favorite things to cook. I love the long process of cooking bolognese, and It’s one of those things that are really hard to not get right.
Last weekend, I decided I wanted to try out different methods of cooking bolognese. It was an all-day process, starting with walking to my local farmers market and picking out each ingredient. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE farmers markets. They are a huge source of inspiration.
After the farmers market, I got to cooking. As I’ve said earlier, I don’t believe in following recipes to a T. Cooking should be a creative activity rather than a rigid process. I believe that you should adapt recipes to fit your own needs. The traditional way of making bolognese is first cooking the meat, then sautéing carrots, celery, and onions, then adding the meat and some milk, and then finally some red wine and the tomatoes. While this method produces delicious bolognese, I wanted to adapt the recipe. I don’t like planning and prepping my ingredients a ton. Instead, I like to figure it out as I go. So, here is my adapted bolognese. Inspired by Marcella Hazan’s bolognese for the New York Times. Apologies for the not so pretty picture. Trust me, it tastes much better than it looks.
Ingredients
2 lb 85% lean ground beef (about two packages worth of meat)
2 yellow onions - diced
4 medium tomatoes - cut into 2-inch chunks (I used Beefsteak and Roma tomatoes)
1 cup of red wine - it doesn’t have to be fancy
3 cloves garlic - crushed and minced
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can puréed tomatoes
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp Herbs de Provence
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 bay leaves
5 tbsp EVOO
Salt and pepper
Directions
I recommend using a large pot for this, I used a ceramic dutch oven. Start off by adding 2 tbsp of EVOO to pot. Keep pot at medium-low heat and let the oil heat up. Add your onions are garlic. Stirring continuously to avoid getting too much color on the onions, adjust the heat so that the pan doesn’t get too hot. The onions and garlic should be taken off the heat and transferred to a bowl when they are translucent. Using the same pot, add ground beef. With a spatula (I like to use a wooden one) crush up the meat so that there isn’t large chunks. Cook until there isn’t any pink visible. Drain the liquid created from the meat out of the pot. Add 3 tbsp of EVOO and your cooked meat and onions and garlic to the pot. Mix together. Add in oregano, herbs de Provence, dried thyme, bay leaves, onion powder and garlic powder. Mix until all is combined. Next, add in your red wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Let wine evaporate. Once evaporated, Add in your fresh tomatoes. Let them soften and cook down (about 5 mins). Add your crushed and puréed tomatoes. Mix everything together until combined. Season with salt and pepper (I don’t give measurements because it should be based on your preference). Now, it’s time to let it cook down. keep on a low heat and partially cover the pot. I check the bolognese every 30 minutes. You will notice that the bolognese will start to look dry. That’s normal, just add in a cup of water each time you notice that happening and cover and let it cook down. I repeat this process of checking, stirring, adding water, and covering for about 3 hours. You don’t have to cook it that long, but the longer you let it cook, the better the outcome will be. Make sure not to add more water in the bolognese right before your going to serve it. You will know when the bolognese is ready to be served, It shouldn’t look watery anymore. Serve over pasta (I like rigatoni and spaghetti the best) and garnish with some parmesan. Enjoy!
