Beef Bolognese
It’s getting’ Italian up in here. There are some inherent comfort foods in my life spawning from my upbringing and a really good pasta sauce is one of them. To Italian households your tomato sauce is a family recipe; other sauces, restaurants, etc just don’t taste right. As cold weather has finally started to settle in to Austin, I needed something filling and hot to warm my soul. When you want all the flavors without so much fat you can substitute the ground beef with ground turkey and serve with spaghetti squash instead of pasta.
Beef Bolognese
Ingredients
1 lb 80/20 ground beef, preferable chili beef, a thicker grind (If you substitute ground turkey for this, be sure to add a cube of beef boullion when add the cans of tomatoes, stirring to dissolve.)
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter
1 diced white onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 TBSP Tomato paste
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
2 28oz. cans of crushed or diced tomatoes
1/2 TBSP red pepper flakes
3/4 cup dry red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon, you can also use a good white for this)
1 TBSP low sodium soy sauce
The zest of 1 lemon
1 lbs prepared linguini, rotini, or 2 lbs prepared spaghetti squash
1 minced anchovy (strictly for glutamate flavor, adds no fishiness, but optional none the less)
Saute the beef over medium high heat in a deep pot or sauce pan for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. You don’t want to cook it through, but you definitely want it to give up a lot of its fat. After few minutes, when a significant amount of grease has been rendered, but the meat has yet to really brown, turn off the heat and strain the meat with a slotted spoon into a bowl and set aside. Dispose of the rendered fat. If you want some added flavor, you can also do 1/2 lb beef with 1/2 pound ground pork, and you can use ground turkey for a healthier option, of course, skipping the step to render any fat.
In a deep pot over medium heat, add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter is melted and bubbling a bit, add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the onions are just transparent and the garlic is no longer raw, about 5-7minutes. Move the onions to one side of the pot, exposing a bare area and dollop the tomato paste there, to toast a bit, about 1-2 minutes. Stir the tomato paste with the onions and garlic, and then add the oregano and basil. Stir, letting the flavors marry and carmelize, about 3 minutes. Add the 2 cans of tomatoes, red pepper flakes, wine, and soy sauce, stirring well. Add the meat back to the sauce and let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, and allow the pot to continue to simmer over medium heat for another 10 minutes or so or until the sauce has thickened.
Serve over your favorite pasta or spaghetti squash and top with shredded fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.
The Nerdy Foodie 