A traditional Italian bolognese is a lot simpler than you’d expect it to be, but that doesn’t mean it skimps on depth or flavour. Whilst there’s several recipes that bulk up the vegetables and garlic, this one relies on time to enhance the flavour. Whilst you may be tempted to remove it off the heat earlier, don’t be deterred by the cook time. This dish can be made in bulk, frozen, and each hour develops a richer flavour.
Traditional Bolognese
A traditional bolognese trusts in its simplicity of ingredients and the development of those flavours over a few hours. Trust in the process and time and you’ll reap the rewards
8
servings10
minutes3
hours10
minutes3
hours20
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
2 TBS Olive Oil
1 carrot, diced finely
1 celery stick, diced finely
1 onion, diced
500 g mince of choice
1/2 cup red wine
2 TBS tomato paste
700 ml tomato passata
salt & pepper (to taste)
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup milk of choice
Directions
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan on a low heat. Cook carrot, celery, and onion until onion is translucent.
- Increase heat to medium, then add the mince. Once the mince has started to brown, increase the heat and add the red wine. Cook until evaporated.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low then add the tomato paste, passata, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.
- Gradually lower the heat to the lowest setting and simmer covered for a MINIMUM of three hours. Check occasionally and stir, adding water if the sauce starts to dry out.
- Just before serving, remove the bay leaves then add the milk. Stir the milk through and cook for a couple of minutes. Serve over pasta, mashed potato, in rolls, however you please!
Tips & Tricks
- You can choose to add mince, meatballs, textured vegetable protein or leave this out.
- I’d suggest a red wine rich in flavour eg. Shiraz. Non-alcoholic wine works well in this too and is easily available in major supermarkets.
- Use any milk of choice, my recommendation is something with a bit of fat. Either dairy, soy, or oat would work well.
