Bolognese Sauce

A rich meat sauce is a must for your cooking repertoire. Fast and easy but it tastes like it’s been cooking for hours. I like to sneak in a bit of cream at the end which adds a touch of richness and viscosity to the sauce. Serve it with your favourite pasta, use it as the sauce for an epic lasagna bolognese or baked rigatoni (scroll down for the recipe). For a simple dinner, we toss the hot pasta with some sauce just to coat and then add a bit more to each serving topped with some freshly grated cheese. Sauce can be made ahead and frozen.

1-1.5 pounds lean ground beef

2 carrots finely chopped

1 celery stalk finely chopped

1 small or 1/2 medium onion chopped

2-3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup beef stock

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

In large pot or Dutch oven on medium heat, brown ground beef with 1 tsp of salt & 1 tbsp oregano. Remove beef from pot And drain any excess oil and set aside. Heat olive oil and add chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for about 8 minutes until they are soft and onions are slightly translucent. Return beef to pot and add remaining seasoning, tomatoes, wine, stock and sugar. Cover and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.

Baked Rigatoni Bolognese

Bolognese Sauce

900 gram package rigatoni cooked al dente

4 cups shredded mozzarella or provolone cheese

1 tablespoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Once your pasta is boiled and strained, give it a quick rinse with cool water. Return pasta to the pot and toss with the prepared Bolognese sauce.

Grease a 9 x 13 casserole. Toss cheese, oregano and salt together. Spread half of the pasta in your baking dish. Sprinkle half of the cheese mixture over the pasta. Add the rest of the rigatoni and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.