Bolognese Sauce

Again I haven’t blogged for a week. Boo for me. During the last few days the weather in New York has warmed up quite a bit which means more time out with friends and very little nookie for my kitchen. Lately it’s been mostly sushi and barbecues. But no more! Here is my most recent adventure:

As I’ve said before, I eat very little red meat. Except for cheeseburgers, of course, I can’t resist those. But I’ve been wanting to make Bolognese sauce for a while and tonight I finally had the chance. This red sauce is originally from Bologna, Italy (hence the name) and is made with beef. Every cook has their own recipe and this one’s mine : ]

Yield: 4-6 portions

Ingredients:

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 medium white onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 stalk of celery, diced

2 small carrots, diced

1 pound ground beef

1 tsp dried oregano

1/3 cup dry red wine (I used Burgundy)

1 12 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tbs light brown sugar

Parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish

Salt/pepper

Pasta

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet on medium-low heat.
Add the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 min. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the beef. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. Break up with a wooden spoon and cook for 5 min, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the wine and simmer for 5 more min, to cook off the alcohol. Add the tomatoes and brown sugar. Re-season again if needed. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 min, loosely covered.
Then taste for seasoning and serve with pasta of your choice, topped with parsley and cheese. Bueno appetito!