Most Bolognese recipes either call for a long list of spices or have the sauce slowly simmer for 2+ hours to get the full flavor, but that's not possible when you need a quick easy meal after work. This is my own simplified version of quick, easy Bolognese sauce. Prepare the sauce and let it slowly simmer while you boil the pasta, make a quick healthy side salad or just chop up some cucumber and tomato slices and you have a great, well balanced meal in under 30 minutes. Plus who doesn't love a warm plate of fresh pasta with sauce and grated cheese at the end of a long day?
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
2 medium sized carrots, finely chopped
1 can crushed or diced tomatoes , low sodium
3 tbsp tomato paste
freshly chopped tomatoes (roughly 1 cup. This is a great chance to use up tomatoes that might be getting a little soft in the fridge. The actual amount of fresh tomatoes I use always varies based on how much the kids snack on while we are chopping them up and how many we happen to have at home)
seasonings: either 1 tbsp of fajita seasoning OR my own mixture of Italian seasonings (1 1/2 tsp oregano, 5 fresh basil leaves chopped up, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt)
Directions:
1. In a large frying pan, saute the garlic, carrots and onion with olive oil over medium-high heat until slightly softened roughly 5 minutes being careful to not let them burn.
2. Add the ground beef to the frying pan and continue to cook over medium-high heat for roughly 8-10 minutes as the meat begins to brown. While the meat is browning, make sure to crumble the meat up well with a spatula and mix it together with the sauteed vegetables.
3. Add the seasonings of choice. If we have a packet of fajita seasoning at home I'll usually throw in 1 tbsp of that. If I don't have that I'll add my own seasoning with oregano, finely chopped fresh basil, black pepper and salt. Stir together well.
4. Turn heat down to low and add in the canned tomatoes, 3 tbsp of tomato paste, and the freshly chopped tomatoes. Allow the sauce to slowly simmer while the past cooks. Make sure to stir occasionally to get the flavors fully mixed together.
5. Serve on top of fresh pasta, add grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese and a little more fresh basil to the top. Enjoy!
*If you make extra sauce you can either freeze it to have another time, use it to make a lasagna later in the week, or send leftovers for lunch. I try to always make extra of whatever we have for dinner so that we either have lunch for the next day, or a base to build another day's dinner off of.
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