A Bowl of Bolognese

So I know it's been a while since I've posted a recipe on here. It's actually been awhile since I've had time to cook! But I had some spare time the other day and I thought a nice pasta dish would be lovely. (I always think a nice pasta dish would be lovely.) But I also wanted to try to work some veggies and fiber into my dinner so I decided on a rich, hearty bolognese sauce. Plus I had lots of celery in my fridge, so, perfect!

There's lots of different ways to make tomato sauce. Marinara is usually just tomatoes cooked down with some basil and garlic. I usually just do a quick sauce with some onions thrown in too. But this sauce is special and requires a little thinking ahead because the longer it simmers the better it gets! Lets make it!

You will need 2 pounds of ground meat (I used beef you could also use any combination of pork, veal, turkey, wild boar, use your imagination!), celery, carrots, garlic, onion, milk (yes milk), red wine, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and thyme.

Chop the veggies in a small dice (you could use a food processor) and saute in olive oil. I also added some butter cause that's how I roll but it's not required. Be sure to salt the veggies to draw out the water and flavor. When the veggies are soft add the garlic and thyme. Mmm, kinda smells like Thanksgiving at this point.

Add the ground meat and break up into little bits. When the meat is cooked add in milk and simmer to reduce. I read that the milk is important because it protects the meat from the acidity of the wine. Speaking of which, when the milk is reduced by half add in the wine!

When the wine has reduced by half add in the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Thin out the mixture with chicken stock or water. Add salt and pepper to taste but not too much because as the sauce reduces the flavors will grow. Now here is the important part. The sauce needs to simmer for AT LEAST an hour. An hour and a half to two hours is even better. So go watch some TV, maybe catch up on some yardwork or gardening, pay your bills, you got time!

Your patience will be rewarded with a thick, rich, meaty sauce that's a little bit sweet from the tomatoes and carrots. Serve over your favorite pasta. I used some linguine which was a good choice as this is a hearty sauce. Enjoy!

Bolognese Sauce
Adapted from epicurious.com

2 pounds ground meat
2 large carrots
4 ribs celery
2 onions
4-6 cloves garlic
1 cup milk
1 cup red wine
1 can tomato paste
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water or chicken stock
1 tablespoon thyme
Salt and pepper (the recipe I used said 1 1/4 teaspoons salt but I added way more than that. Salt is pretty subjective so just taste as you go along!)

Finely dice carrots, celery, and onions and saute in olive oil with a sprinkle of salt. When veggies are soft add in finely chopped garlic. (I use a grater.) Add in thyme. Add in meat and break up into little pieces. When meat is cooked add milk and reduce to about half. Then add in red wine and reduce that by half as well. Stir in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. Salt and paper to taste. Simmer over medium low heat for at least one hour. Serve with your favorite pasta.