Monday, December 20, 2010

By Request, Bolognese

Cozy Sundays at home call for comforting dinners. Comfort food for an Italian is a big bowl of pasta and a glass of wine to enjoy alongside it. I'm sorry to all of the creators of the low-carb diets but I will never be able to fully follow your dietary restrictions. Not only does pasta satisfy my Italian cravings, but it feeds my soul. Mark requested pasta with a Bolognese sauce yesterday and I couldn't have thought of anything better to enjoy on yet another snowy Sunday. I hopped onto the Food Network website and found another winner from my TV kitchen here, Giada. This recipe is full of flavor and quick as an elf to put together. I would have loved to serve this sauce over Paparadelle pasta but unfortunately I could not find it at my grocery store. Linguine was just as good of a vehicle for the sauce but something about those thick noodles are so enticing. There is no need to open a jar of sauce when making it yourself can be so easy.


Simple Bolognese Recipe

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 (28 oz. can) crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup flat leafed parsley, chopped
8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Salt & Pepper to season

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onions become soft. Add the celery and carrot and saute for another 5 minutes. raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute and stir frequently breaking up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens, Season with salt and pepper. Finish by tossing the sauce over cooked pasta and serve with Pecorino Romano.


4 comments:

  1. nina, this looks so good! we will definitely give it a try soon!

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  2. Bookmarking this recipe now! (P.S. I adore the new blog header.) Happy 2011!

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  3. Love your blog! You do such an amazing job with your photos and descriptions! I have really enjoyed reading it since your mom showed it to me and I will continue to follow!!!! :)

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