pasta bolognese

I can always tell when my body needs iron because I get some serious cravings for a big juicy hamburger. Of course, my body could just be craving some saturated fat, but we'll go with the iron thing.

Instead of running out to the closest burger joint, I decided to make a good, rich, meaty pasta bolognese. Bolognese sauce is often misinterpreted as a red sauce with meat when, in fact, meat is the star of the show in bolognese sauce. Tomatoes, on the other hand, are more like... well... the stage hand. A little bit of tomato paste is used, but usually not even enough to turn the sauce bright red. Instead, the tomato just helps build the incredible, beefy gravy. If you really like tomatoes, you can add a can of diced tomatoes to get that traditional "red sauce" feel. Plus it will stretch the meat further and give you more servings per recipe. I'm pretty tomato obsessed so, admittingly, I'll probably add some next time.

The recipe calls for red wine so if you don't have any reserved in your freezer, open up a bottle of vino and hang out with your sweetheart as you put the sauce together. It needs to simmer for an hour so that's just enough time to snack on some cheese and crackers and finish off that bottle! That, my friends, is how you do date night in.





Total Recipe cost: $8.06
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $2.02
Prep time: 25 min. Cook time: 1 hr. Total: 1 hr. 25 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 oz.	bacon	$0.33
2 med.	carrots	$0.25
2 stalks	celery	$0.22
1 med.	onion	$0.60
4 cloves	garlic	$0.12
1 lb.	ground beef	$3.88
1/2 cup	red wine	$1.10
1 cube	beef bouillon	$0.12
1 cup	water	$0.00
1/4 cup	tomato paste	$0.40
1 cup	milk	$0.32
1/2 tsp	red pepper flakes (optional)	$0.05
to taste	salt and pepper	$0.05
8 oz.	pasta	$0.62
TOTAL		$8.06

STEP 1: Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook in a large pot over medium/high heat. While the bacon is cooking, finely dice the carrot, celery, onion and garlic.

STEP 2: When the bacon is deep brown and crispy, drain off about 3/4 of the grease. Leave enough to coat the vegetables. Add the diced vegetables and continue to cook until they have softened and the onions are transparent.

STEP 3: Add the ground beef and cook until completely browned. Add the wine, beef broth (bouillon + water) and tomato paste. Bring the mixture up to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer with a lid partially in place.

STEP 4: Add the milk a little about 1/4 cup at a time as the sauce simmers. Simmer with the lid in place (but slightly cocked) for 30 minutes then remove the lid and allow the mixture to reduce as it simmers for another 30 minutes. Taste the mixture half way through and adjust the salt and pepper and add red pepper flakes if desired.

STEP 5: About 15 minutes before the sauce is finished simmering, cook the pasta according to the package directions (boil for 5-7 minutes or until al dente). When the sauce is thick, spoon about 1 cup over 2 ounces of cooked pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley or parmesan cheese if desired.

Step By Step Photos

Chop up the bacon and throw it in a large pot. A few slices will do, use what you have available. If you don't want to use bacon, just replace it with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and move on to the next step.


Gather your vegetables. Use a couple carrots, a couple stalks of celery, an onion and some garlic.


Dice the vegetables up very fine. You want the flavor from the vegetables but you don't want huge chunks in the sauce. If you have a shredder, you can use that instead.


When the bacon is brown and crispy, drain off most of the fat. This picture is *after* the drain. It was literally swimming in grease before. Leave enough in the pan to coat the vegetables as they cook.


Add the diced vegetables to the bacon and cook. This mixture is simply amazing. More recipes need to start with these five ingredients.


Cook them down until softened. The onions should look transparent. This might just be what they serve in heaven... it looks/smells SOOO good.


Add the ground beef and cook that until it's completely browned.


Add your beef broth (bouillon), wine and tomato paste. I just happened to have wine and tomato paste in the freezer. I have yet to come across a recipe that uses all of the tomato paste from one of those tiny cans so I always freeze the left overs. I used a bouillon cube for the broth with one cup of water.


Bring the mixture up to a boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer for an hour. Keep a lid partially in place for the first half hour but remove it for the last 30 minutes so that liquid can evaporate and the sauce will thicken.


Every 10-15 minutes, add about 1/4 cup of milk. The lactic acid in the milk will help soften the meat and the lactose gives the sauce just a hint of sweetness. It really does make this sauce spectacular!


At the end of the hour, the sauce should be thick and rich. You can cook it longer and let it reduce more if needed. If you want it more tomato-y, add a can of tomatoes with the tomato paste, wine and broth before simmering. You might have to let it simmer longer because of the added liquid.


Spoon it over some cooked pasta and enjoy dinner :)

Add some Garlic Bread and a salad and OH MY, YES! ... Real food is good.