My sister sent me this recipe about a year ago. The comment she made that she liked the smell of the sauce that infused the air in her apartment as it cooked for hours on her stove stuck with me and made me want to try it. I thought I’d lost it; but in moving my stuff from my apartment, I unearthed this treasure of a recipe. Instead of using a mixture of half ground pork and half ground beef as the recipe calls, I used ground turkey (because we had it on hand). I also doubled the amount of veggies called for and added minced garlic.
I was excited to try this recipe because my dad is in town, and he has yet to try any of my creations (since I started writing about them). Also BF and I have been busy packing up our things and have not been doing much cooking — or, more accurately, any creative cooking.
This is only the second time I’ve ever had Pasta Bolognese. The first time I had it was when I worked at the Cheesecake Factory (Pasta Bolognese has since been renamed Pasta with Meat Sauce on their expansive menu). I found their dish to be OK. On the other hand, my veggie-infused dish was outstanding. (Even my dad kept repeating this is really good over and over again before he finally said, no, you don’t understand; this is amazing.)
Even though I feel like I added a lot more veggies to this dish, I think you could add even more veggies if you’re a veggie lover. My dad commented that he couldn’t tell there were any veggies in it at all.
It took almost three hours to make, but it was well worth it. If you’re looking for a healthy dish, I think omitting the cream or half & half would be fine (and I would serve over whole wheat pasta).
ingredients.
- 4 T. olive oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 carrots, peeled and minced
- 2 celery stalks, washed and minced
- 4 fresh tomatoes, washed and cut in quarters
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 pieces of bacon, minced
- 1 lb. ground turkey (or 1 lb. ground beef or ½ lb. ground pork and ½ lb. ground beef)
- 1 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes, drained (juice reserved)
- ¾ c. reserved tomato juice or ¾ c. white wine
- 1 c. chicken stock (preferably homemade)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 c. cream or half & half
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
directions.
- Place the minced bacon in a large deep skillet and cook on a low heat as you mince the veggies. Add olive oil. Turn heat to medium-low, add veggies, and cook for 10 minutes or until all the veggies are tender.
- Add ground meat and cook until all the red is gone. Add the tomato juice. Raise the heat a bit. Cook, stirring occasionally until mos the liquid evaporates, about five minutes.
- Crush plum tomatoes with a fork and add to pot. Stir. Add fresh, quartered tomatoes. Add the stock. Turn the heat to low and cook at a slow simmer, stirring occasionally. Mash up fresh tomatoes as the sauce simmers and the tomatoes begin to get soft.After an hour add salt and pepper to taste. Cook another hour until most liquid is evaporated and the sauce is very thick.
- Add the cream or half & half and cook for another 15-30 minutes on low heat.
- Serve immediately over your favorite noodle.
Serves four to six; makes one quart.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 
Reblogged this on Le Food Snob and commented:
I made this dish over six years ago and stumbled upon it recently when I decided to start remaking some recipes from blog posts past.
Like the last time I made it, my dad is visiting. When the sauce was simmering away on the stove my dad kept commenting how amazing it smelled and asked if I had ever made it before. I told him that I had, and that, in fact, he had been in town the last time I’d made it too. Interestingly enough when he dug into the pasta, he had the near exact same reaction as he did six years ago. (“This is good. This is good. No. You don’t understand. This is really good!”)
ingredients.
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and minced
4 celery stalks, washed and minced
8 fresh tomatoes (on the vine), washed and cut in quarters
5 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 T. minced garlic from the jar)
6 pieces of thick cut bacon, minced
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
2 28 oz. cans whole plum tomatoes, drained (juice reserved)
1 c. reserved tomato juice
1 c. white wine
2 c. vegetable stock (I used homemade)
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. heavy cream
freshly grated parmesan cheese
directions.
Place the minced bacon in a large deep skillet and cook on medium-low heat as you mince the veggies. Add onions and garlic and cook for approximately 20 minutes until the bacon starts to crisp. Continue mincing your veggies. Add veggies carrots and celery and cook for 10 minutes longer or until all the veggies are tender.
When you add the carrots and the celery to the pan, in large pot cook the meat over medium heat until cooked through. Add veggie mixture to meat pot. Add the reserved tomato juice and white wine. Raise the heat a bit. Cook, stirring occasionally until mos the liquid evaporates, about five minutes.
Crush plum tomatoes with a fork and add to pot. Stir. Add fresh, quartered tomatoes. Add the stock. Turn the heat to low and cook at a slow simmer, stirring occasionally. Mash up fresh tomatoes as the sauce simmers and the tomatoes begin to get soft. After an hour add salt and pepper to taste. Cook another hour until most liquid is evaporated and the sauce is very thick.
Add the cream and cook for another 15-30 minutes on low heat.
Serve immediately over your favorite noodle.
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