Penne Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese Sauce This is one of my favorite pasta meals. It's easy and you can play around with it by adding different ingredients. Once made it's like money in the bank.... eat it the same night or deposit it in the freezer and when withdrawn, the taste pays off dividends.

Sometimes when I know I won't be around all day (like when I am skiing in a foot of fresh powder) I make it in a crock pot and let it cook all day. When you walk in the door and the smell hits you, Wow!

It's usually made with beef, but I like to mix beef and veal or beef and lamb to give it a real "peasant" taste. Let me know what you think. RG

Penne alla Bolognese
makes 4 -6 servings
Cooking Techniques - Saute, De glaze, Puree & Boil

Reluctant Gourmet's Tips

Try using all chopped veal or lamb for a stronger flavor.
Never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.
Puree the tomatoes right in their can with a Hand Blender.
Check out my tips on sauté and deglazing.
Try using carrots instead of sugar to sweeten your sauces.

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground veal or lamb
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 - 6 cloves of garlic....depending on your love for garlic and how much your family can stand
1/4 cup red wine
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 16 oz. can whole tomatoes with/ juice
salt & pepper to taste
1 pound penne pasta
Parmesan cheese for grating on top

Have all your meats ready to go and start a big pot of water boiling.

Peel and dice the onion. Then peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the carrots and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces cutting across the carrot.

In a large sauce pot, brown the chopped beef and (veal or lamb), drain fat and reserve meat for later.
In the same pot, sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil & butter until the onions are translucent.
Deglaze the pan with wine and reduce by half.
Puree the whole tomatoes and add them to the pot along with the sliced carrots and reserved meat.
Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours. (If the sauce become too dry add a little water or chicken stock)
Salt and Pepper to taste.
In a big pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta al dente.
Serve sauce over pasta with grated cheese.

Of course you'll want to have plenty of French or Italian bread to sop up any leftover sauce and be sure to enjoy a great bottle of red wine with this meal.

Readers Comments.

I usually start a Bolognese meat sauce ("Ragu") with some butter, in which I fry chopped onion, carrot, celery and bacon until the onions are translucent. Then I add the chopped or ground meat and fry slowly until it starts to brown. Now the wine, but I would use 1/2 to 1 cup, depending on how assertive the particular vino. Cook down until it evaporates, then add the tomato whatever. Cook all day in a crock pot, adding meat stock as necessary to keep the consistency right.

A few more thoughts - first, 2 lbs meat is a hell of a lot for 1 lb of pasta! A pound would be plenty. Second, I don't see where pure veal would give the sauce a stronger flavor; to my palate veal is much milder than mature beef. I often use a mixture of chopped leftover beef and some turkey sausage. Third, I don't much like canned tomatoes, also don't like tomato skins and seeds, so I push blanched fresh Roma tomatoes thru a sieve; the logical short cut is a can of tomato paste, diluted with some meat stock. Fourth, to my perhaps jaded palate such a sauce is screaming for some cayenne, as well as salt & pepper to taste. And finally, IMHO the only cheese to grate over such a sauce is imported Parmesan (Reggiano).