Week 10:
On a cool rainy Friday evening, Memorial Day cook-outs were the furthest thing from my mind. We wanted comfort food, pure and simple, so fresh pasta with Bolognese sauce was on the menu!
QUICK BOLOGNESE
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef (or turkey)
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausages
- Half a sweet onion, chopped
- 1 to 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 32 oz jar Rao’s marinara
- ½ cup red wine
- ¼ lb fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
- Dried oregano and basil to taste
- 1 to 2 pieces of parmesan rind
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion just until tender.
- Remove the sausage meat from the casings and crumble it the meat into the saucepan.
- Crumble in the beef and sauté the meats, stirring often, until browned.
- Sprinkle in the garlic, stir again, and add the red wine.
- Deglaze the pan, then stir in the marinara sauce and oregano and basil to taste—I usually add a generous teaspoon of each, along with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and stir in the mushrooms; add the parmesan rind, if using, and simmer, uncovered, for at least an hour.
- Serve over fresh pasta, garnished with grated parmesan and fresh basil, if you have it.
Notes
This is ready within an hour, but is actually much better after simmering all afternoon. And, like many sauces, it’s even better a few days after it’s made, and the flavors have had a chance to mingle.