This simple bolognese sauce is a modern take on the cosy comfort classic. Rich meaty sauce loaded with herbs and spices and Vegetables. It skips the long simmer and comes together in under an hour.
Good for your health: Each portion is 2 of your 5 a day!
Calling all the cosy people to the table please. This is it. Cosy simple bolognese sauce. This is how we're all gonna stay warm and cozy all winter long. Because now that the temperature is dropping, it's time for tummy and soul warming comfort food. But let's not get carried away. We need to be making comfort food that's actually going to be good for us. Because those sweater bods are gonna have a new meaning this winter. And this cosy simple bolognese is just the ticket.
Be warned... this is not a bolognese that sits on the stove for hours and days and is simmered within and inch of it's life. Don't get me wrong. I love those low and slow sauce affairs, and I'm sure at some point this winter we will get there, however, for right now, we're going with quick and simple. Because weeknights, y'all!
How to make simple bolognese sauce
This bolognese is a simple one to make. It's full of veggies and in classic bolognese style, I used ground (minced) pork. When I researched the history of bolognese I found out a few interesting facts. the biggest one being that there is no standard recipe or tradition for bolognese. So, I made my own recipe using what worked for me, what made sense, what I had on hand (no wine) ingredient wise and paying a lot of attention to how the sauce was behaving on the stove. Adjusted accordingly and recorded the results so that you and I could have our own classic but cosy and simple bolognese recipe that we can rely on for years to come.
- Use a combination on mire poix veggies (carrot, celery, onion. AKA the holy trinity)
- Use passata not chopped tomatoes.
- Skip the wine. It doesn't need it.
- Be controversial and use a tablespoon of cinnamon. Trust me. No, Seriously. Trust me.
- Use some bone broth to add richness to the sauce.
This recipe is a modern classic that can be adapted to fit your cooking style and your flavour preferences, so easily. It'll keep you cosy all winter long. Make a big batch of it as part of your meal prep Sunday and you can stash it in the freezer for any quick weeknight.
A super quick tip: This is also a killer filling for lasagne. Your family will think that you are the angel of all the cosy foods!
Cosy Simple Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound 500g ground pork
- 3 banana shallots
- 2 sticks celery
- 2 carrots
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 x 680g jar passata
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottom pan over a medium heat.
- Add the olive oil to the pan and cook the pork until cooked and starting to brown. Remove the pork to a small bowl for later.
- Drain any fat from the pan leaving 1 Tbsp. Add the chopped shallots, carrots and onions and garlic.
- Sautée until the vegetables are soft and translucent.
- Add the cinnamon and dried herbs and the tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes taking care to not let the tomato paste burn.
- Add the pork back to the pan and add the passata.
- Season the sauce with the pepper flakes, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook the sauce out for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and rich.
- Season to taste.
- Serve with pasta and bread.
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