I've always wanted to make my own version of Bolognese, but never had the chance to make it. But with more time on my hands during the fall I made it for dinner for my family and I and we loved it! However, the secret ingredient is pumpkin puree. Don't click off, or think that this is a typo its real! If you don't like pumpkin you can't even tell that it's in there. The flavours mask it so well it have you craving more! And the thing is is you'll have pumpkin-haters admitting that they love pumpkin! So, without further adieu I introduce to you my Fall Bolognese.
Building the Bolognese
This recipe is SO easy to follow and it honestly comes together in under an hour two hours tops. Your typical Bolognese usually take anywhere from four to six hours. We build the flavour from the ground up, which brings a Bolognese that will bless your spirit!
I start with the sauce which brings a lot of the flavour. As you can see in the photo above I flavour the oil with the herbs. This really infuses the flavour from the herbs into your sauce, and I cook the herbs in the oil on medium heat just until their toasted. I learned this trick from a chef that I personally love to watch on YouTube and have been doing ever since! So don't skip this step! It make be an extra step, but its all worth it in the end. The building of this sauce is very similar to how I make my Marinara Sauce, (check it out here) just slightly different.
Let's talk moirepoix/aromatics
In traditional Bolognese you use a mixture of aromatics/mirepoix finely chopped onions, celery, and chopped carrot. Using fresh ingredients like this cooked down for a while brings out a wonderful sweet and savoury flavour that really compliments the Ragu Bolognese. Because I always loved to add my own twist to things I like to add along with yellow onion; green onions, parsley, and mushroom(the mushroom is definitely optional!). Around this time you need some comfort food and with these flavours it is sure to give you the comforting flavour and feeling!
Finely chopping your aromatics really helps with cooking them quicker, and the quicker you get these to cook the quicker you can eat. :) This is one of the longer steps, which is cooking your vegetables hard on medium high heat to break them down to get them softened yet still with a slight bite. A good thirty minutes does it just right. Don't forget this will bubble away for a little while which will help the aromatics cook down even more.
The Meat
The kind of meat you use is very important to the outcome of your Bolognese. Traditional Bolognese is beef, but if you don't eat beef you can use any kind of meat that you'd want to use. Here are some of my alternatives that I use: ground turkey, or ground chicken(ground chicken thighs to be specific. This cut of the chicken yields you the best flavour in your dishes!)
In this Bolognese, I use beef but particularly 90/10 beef sirloin mixture(90% lean, 10% fat) and let me tell you that this was the best one that I have used so far. So I highly recommend this mixture! However, there are other meat mixtures 70/30, 80/20, etc. The lower the percentage the less grease or fat it'll yield. So in this case I had to use a little vegetable oil or flavourless oil to help it along.
The Pasta
You'll hear chefs discuss the type of pasta depends on the type of dish you are making. This is due to the fact that you want whatever pasta you are using to soak up and really get coated nicely by your sauce. Rigatoni, is a wonderful choice due to its exquisite and unique ridges. The Bolognese really excels using rigatoni, I highly recommend it for this dish!
However, you can use whatever you have on hand. Another great alternative that I just happen to enjoy, is Angel Hair pasta even though it's thin it's still able to withstand the sauce. Also, I have a great recipe for Homemade Pasta, and you could make thick Pappardelle to go with your Fall Bolognese.
For dishes like this one, because the Bolognese is thick reserving at least a cup of your starchy cooking water from your boiled noodles could really help when you are tossing your pasta with the Bolognese. This does three things: 1. thins out your saucy slightly, 2. Keeps your pasta from sticking together, and 3. It helps keep your pasta moist! So don't skip this step!
INGREDIENTS
For the Bolognese Marinara Sauce
2 large stalks of celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
4 leaves of fresh basil, Julienned chopped
about 6 button mushrooms, chopped(optional)
1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, or to taste
3 teaspoons of dried oregano leaves
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
1/4 bunch of fresh (curly style) parsley chopped, or 3 tablespoons of dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of minced dried garlic flakes
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 small yellow onions(or 1 large yellow onion)
(4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and a half a stick of butter for the veggies)
3 (24 oz) cans of Traditional Tomato Sauce
2 teaspoons of tomato paste
1/3 cup of pumpkin puree
Extra seasoned salt, extra onion powder, garlic powder, and extra garlic salt(if needed, just do it according to your taste and preference)
2 pounds of Rigatoni Boxes
Pre-Shredded or Freshly Grated Cheese of your choice
Meat
6 pounds of ground sirloin 90% lean, 10 % fat
2 teaspoons of tomato paste
3 teaspoons of parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
2 teaspoons of dried oregano leaves
2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
A couple tablespoons of vegetable oil
For the Marinara Sauce, start by heating your olive oil on medium heat(I put the handle end of wooden spoon and once it bubbles slightly around the spoon that's how you know it's ready!). Next, pour in your herbs this includes: fresh basil, rosemary, and parsley, oregano flakes, Italian seasoning. Cook the herbs until they are toasted, DO NOT burn them, this is just to release the oils from the herbs into the sauce. Then, pour in your onions and cook them until the onions become translucent. Lastly, add in your garlic and cook for a few minutes until very slightly browned.
Next, add in your mirepoix(except for the mushrooms, if you are using them you can wait till the end after everything is softened to put them in. Because they don't take very long to sautee). Cook the veggies on medium high for 30 minutes(at the 15 minute mark add in your butter to help further sautee your veggies), until softened yet still with a slight with a slight bite.
In the meantime, go ahead cook your meat. Cook the meat in your flavourless oil on medium high heat until it has brown and cooked all the way through then add your seasonings.
4. Give that a nice stir to make sure that the seasonings are dispersed throughout the meat mixture. Then, stir in your tomato paste.
5. At this point you can add in your tomato paste to the veggie mixture(at this point you can put your mushrooms in if you are using them) along with the pumpkin puree, and give it a nice stir to ensure that it is incorporated evenly.
6. Once the pumpkin puree and paste are mixed in, then you'll add in your tomato sauce into your veggies. Give everything a nice stir ensuring to scrape the bottom to ensure there is nothing sticking to the bottom.
7. Once everything is mixed, CAREFULLY pour your bolognese marinara over the meat mixture.
8. Cover the Bolognese with a lid, turn the heat to medium, and let the Bolognese bubble and simmer for 30-35 minutes until it has thickened. In the last 9-10 minutes go ahead and boil your pasta. Don't forget to reserve a cup of your starchy cooking water to thin out your sauce, and to keep your noodles moist.
9. Pour a little bit of your starchy cooking water over your noodles after they have been drained(you can use the same pot that your boiled them in, just be careful because both the water and pot will still be very hot). Then, pour about a couple cups of your bolognese into the noodles to make the noodles extra saucy, toss together.
10. Serve up the noodles onto your plate, spoon over more Bolognese Sauce, and some grated mozzarella cheese(or any cheese you would enjoy) and enjoy!
You can serve this with some cheesy garlic bread or any kind bread you love to dip in your marinara sauce. My (NO MACHINE) Roasted Garlic Loaves would go perfect with this dish check it out here.
Please share your pictures with me on social media! Use the hashtag on Instragram: #thefoodbloggerskitchen, and tag me in your photos! @thefood__blogger. I love seeing your creations! I really hope that you enjoy today's recipe and blog post. We will be posting every other Monday at 11:30 AM CST! So make sure that you are #SUBSCRIBED to my newsletter all you need is a working email to receive my blog posts!
-Happy Food Blogging!
Comments