Bolognese Sauce
1 lb meatloaf mix or ground beef
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, finely cubed
1 rib celery, including leaves, finely cubed
2 bay leaves
2-3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 cup dry wine (whatever you have – I like white)
1 – 1 ½ inch squirt anchovy paste
1 – 1 ½ inch squirt tomato paste
¼ cup pork product like cooked bacon, Canadian bacon, or pepperoni; sliced or cubed
A lot of fresh flat-leafed parsley
Quite a bit of salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Olive oil
Bacon fat (optional)
In a large skillet or sauce pan, sauté onion, garlic, carrot and celery over medium high heat in enough fat to coat all pieces. Add a bit of salt. Sauté until onions and garlic are almost opaque, and the vegetables have some browning, but are not quite tender. They will continue to cook throughout this process. Add meat, to pan and cook until meat is brown. If there is too much fat in the pan, remove some with a spoon.
Stir in anchovy and tomato pastes and cook for a few minutes. Add tomatoes. Use a little water to rinse out the can and add that to the pan, or use the wine for this purpose. Add the wine, a mess of oregano, the bay leaves, a lot of salt, and some black pepper. Add whatever pork product you’re using. Lower heat to medium or medium-low and cook uncovered until sauce is quite thick and mahogany in color, about 30 -45 minutes. Stir and taste often for seasoning. Finish by stirring in some fresh chopped parsley leaves and by removing the bay leaves.
Serve immediately with pasta, or freeze to use on a busy work night. If you do freeze, you may want to add some jarred tomato sauce to thin it out a bit while reheating.
Frozen peas would also be delicious in this dish. As my dining partner does not like peas, I leave them out. Once, when I was out of wine, I used vodka and lemon juice instead.
-Elena
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot, finely cubed
1 rib celery, including leaves, finely cubed
2 bay leaves
2-3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 cup dry wine (whatever you have – I like white)
1 – 1 ½ inch squirt anchovy paste
1 – 1 ½ inch squirt tomato paste
¼ cup pork product like cooked bacon, Canadian bacon, or pepperoni; sliced or cubed
A lot of fresh flat-leafed parsley
Quite a bit of salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
Olive oil
Bacon fat (optional)
In a large skillet or sauce pan, sauté onion, garlic, carrot and celery over medium high heat in enough fat to coat all pieces. Add a bit of salt. Sauté until onions and garlic are almost opaque, and the vegetables have some browning, but are not quite tender. They will continue to cook throughout this process. Add meat, to pan and cook until meat is brown. If there is too much fat in the pan, remove some with a spoon.
Stir in anchovy and tomato pastes and cook for a few minutes. Add tomatoes. Use a little water to rinse out the can and add that to the pan, or use the wine for this purpose. Add the wine, a mess of oregano, the bay leaves, a lot of salt, and some black pepper. Add whatever pork product you’re using. Lower heat to medium or medium-low and cook uncovered until sauce is quite thick and mahogany in color, about 30 -45 minutes. Stir and taste often for seasoning. Finish by stirring in some fresh chopped parsley leaves and by removing the bay leaves.
Serve immediately with pasta, or freeze to use on a busy work night. If you do freeze, you may want to add some jarred tomato sauce to thin it out a bit while reheating.
Frozen peas would also be delicious in this dish. As my dining partner does not like peas, I leave them out. Once, when I was out of wine, I used vodka and lemon juice instead.
-Elena
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