This original recipe was developed for the seniors citizens at our local food pantry. I assist in developing recipes from time to time for the food pantry, based on what they want to feature in a recipe, in this case, ground beef. I do try to limit ingredients and use ingredients that are accessible and affordable. I like pairing this Bolognese sauce with a hearty whole wheat or brown rice pasta to make this extra nutritious.

Add a good drizzle of olive oil to a frying pan, keep heat on low. Add the diced onions, carrots, and celery ( also known as Soffrito). Salt generously. Cook for 15 minutes until caramelized and slightly browned, then take them out of the pan and add the ground beef to the pan. Chop the meat using a flat edge spoon or spatula.

Cook the meat until BROWNED, keeping the heat on medium-low. Browning the meat is important to create a nice flavor base for this dish.

You may leave the Soffrito in the pan, but I prefer to properly chop up the meat and cook it without the vegetables in the pan. Soffritto is an aromatic flavor base composed of sauteed carrots, celery, and onion that forms the foundation of many soups (like minestrone), stews, pasta sauces, and braises throughout Italian cuisine.

 

Once the meat is browned, add the cooked vegetables back into the pan and season the mixture with garlic and onion powder to taste, and a sprinkle of salt. Pour in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the red wine. Toss in a bay leaf or 2 . Keep heat on low and allow this to simmer, about 15-20 minutes and the liquid will reduce by half. The longer it simmers the better it tastes!!!

Note: Wine is flammable so keep the wine bottle away from heat and do not add the wine to the hot pan. Adding the wine to the mixture with the tomato sauce makes it less likely to flame versus when you deglaze the pan. Always use caution and be sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand.

Once the water comes to a boil, salt it. Salting the water is a important part to a good tasting dish. If you don’t salt the pasta water, your dish will not be properly seasoned, it doesn’t matter how good the sauce is! Add pasta once the water is at a rolling boil, and cook according to box directions and reduce time by 1 minute.

Since this is an easy Bolognese recipe, your sauce is ready! Otherwise, continue to simmer the meat and Soffrito and add 2-3 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer, the liquid will reduce. You can allow this to cook for a few hours. I do not typically do this because I consider Bolognese sauce a quick supper and the kids are always hungry and can’t wait that long! ha-ha

Strain pasta (reserve 1 cup of pasta water) and add the pasta to the pan with beef mixture, and mix. Add in 1/2 cup of water and mix well, cook a few minutes to marry flavors. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Be sure the sauce is coating the pasta. Taste it to adjust seasonings accordingly. Discard bay leaf. Use reserve pasta water as needed to loosen remaining pasta.

Serve and sprinkle each bowl with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Note: If you like to use fresh garlic, always a nice touch, use 4 garlic cloves and thinly slice. Add it to the pan with the Soffrito. I omitted it in the original recipe because I thought garlic powder was more accessible. As always season to your liking. You may still use the garlic powder, it will just be extra garlicky!