Bolognese Sauce
Some of you asked about our bolognese sauce that we cooked a couple of weekends ago. And I realized that I've never shared this tried and true recipe with you. It was passed to me by my mother-in-law who religiously has this meat sauce ready for the kids every Christmas we visit. And normally we wait all year to eat it, but this year I decided to make it around Halloween time for a ghoulish spaghetti dinner.
This past weekend, I made it again. We started by making a homemade pasta that I thought I would turn into little pasta Christmas wreaths. And yes Christmas music was playing in the background. I love Pandora's Michael Bublé holiday station. I placed them just like this into my pot of boiling water. The fresh thyme just adds a bit of flavor to the pasta.
What I love about this recipe is that it's delicious of course, but you can cook it all day long and it just makes your house smell amazing. To me, it brings all the Christmas feels as we have many memories of eating it around Christmas time so don't be surprised if there's Christmas music playing in the background.
Bolognese Meat Sauce1 lb. sweet Italian sausage1/2 lb. lean ground beef1/2 cup finely chopped onion2 cloves of garlic, minced2 Tbs. sugar1 Tbs. kosher salt1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped1/2 tsp. oregano1/4 tsp. black pepper1/8 cup parsley, chopped1 28 oz. can San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes1 6 oz. can of tomato paste1/2 cup red wineIn a large pot, over medium heat, drizzle some olive oil and sautee the sausage and beef, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon.When the meat is browned, set it aside.In the same pot, add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.Add the meat back into the pot with the onion and garlic.Add the sugar, salt, basil, oregano, black pepper, and parsley. Mix well.Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and red wine, smashing with the wooden spoon until the tomatoes are crushed.Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally for at least 1 1/2 hours.Serve over your favorite pasta, or use in a lasagna.Optional: Make these meatballs {just follow the meatball recipe and skip the rest} to go along a delicious spaghetti.For another great bolognese recipe visit Eat Little Bird.first image via Eat Little Bird