Light Beef Bolognese Recipes

BEST EVER BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Fry the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until done (don't drain the bacon grease). Add the butter and the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes.
• Add the ground beef, veal, sausage and salt and cook until no pink remains. Add the milk, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
• Add the consomme, white and red wine, tomatoes and all remaining ingredients except for the parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue simmering on very low for another 2 hours. If the bolognese is too runny, uncover and simmer another 30 minutes or until sufficiently thickened. Stir in the parsley and simmer for another minute.
• Serve over pasta (fresh is best) with some freshly grated aged Italian cheese.
• Note: This sauce freezes well and can be used in any pasta dish, including lasagna.

BEEF BOLOGNESE SAUCE WITH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrot, onion, celery, garlic, tomato paste, and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Saute, stirring frequently, for five minutes or so. If the onion or garlic begins to brown, reduce the heat. Add pancetta, stirring frequently, and continue to cook until the vegetables are soft.
• Add beef and pork a third at a time. Allow most of the liquids to evaporate before adding more. Cook, stirring frequently, until meat is browned. No parts of the beef or pork should be pink, and the liquid should be evaporated.
• Deglaze the pot with white wine. Scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan and lower the heat. Add milk, broth, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and a crack of black pepper. Bring to a boil.
• In the final few minutes of cook time, prepare the pappardelle pasta according to package instructions.
• Turn heat to lowest possible setting and simmer, adding bay leaves and parsley. Simmer on low, half-covered, for four hours, stirring occasionally. Once four hours is up, remove bay leaves. If the sauce has not completely thickened, increase the heat and simmer another 15 to 30 minutes without the lid.

WEEKNIGHT BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute. Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.
• While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining 1/4 cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan and toss well. Serve hot with Parmesan on the side.

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the butter to the oil in small pieces and when the butter foams, add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bay and stir, about 5 minutes. Add pancetta and stir 8 to 10 more minutes to render and crisp. Add about a third of the beef and crumble it with a wooden paddle or spoon, let all of the liquid absorb and let the meat begin to lightly caramelize before adding the next third; repeat. Season the meat with salt, pepper, white pepper and nutmeg. Add white wine, about a quarter to a third of a bottle, then stir and let it absorb into the meat. Scrape up all of the fond or the drippings from the meats and vegetables, being careful not to burn the meat. Add milk, tomatoes and about 1 cup stock, a piece of cheese rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano if you have one, then lower heat to simmer, partially cover and cook the sauce 2 1/2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add up to 1 extra cup of stock if needed if sauce gets too thick. The perfect traditional Bolognese should be buttery, uniform and emulsified, the consistency of rich, tender, pourable oatmeal. Remove bay leaf and the rind, if using, from the sauce. Sauce may be made a few days ahead as the longer it sets, the better it gets.
• To serve, cook pasta in salted water 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Reserve 1 full cup of starchy cooking water, then drain pasta and place back in hot pot.
• Combine pasta with about two-thirds of the sauce, the cooking water and a couple of handfuls of grated cheese, tossing with tongs to combine.
• Serve pasta in shallow bowls with a little torn basil.

BEEF BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Place a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the meat and a large pinch of salt and cook, breaking up any lumps, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onions and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato paste and toast it until it looks rusty, a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the milk and bring to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, until the sauce has thickened and all the liquid is reduced, at least 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove the thyme bundle.
• Before serving, stir in some freshly grated Parmesan. To serve, grate more Parmesan over top.

LIGHT BEEF BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan or skillet, sauté the garlic, onion and green pepper in oil over moderate heat.
• When the vegetables begin to sizzle, crumble the beef into the pan and sauté it, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
• Add the wine and stir and scrape well to deglaze the pan.
• Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your wooden spoon.
• Stir in the remaining ingredients.
• Simmer until sauce is thick but still slightly liquid, 20-25 minutes.
• Discard the bay leaf.
• Spoon over fettucine or shells.

THE BEST BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Combine the beef and pork in a large bowl. "Pull" the ground meat apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and incorporating the meat without compacting it. Continue to pull the meat apart until thoroughly mixed and no clumps remain.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and is golden brown on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pancetta with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread half of the ground meat in an even layer in the pot and cook undisturbed until lightly golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is lightly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot. Repeat with the remaining ground meat.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onions, bay leaf, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant and brick red, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and cook until it reduces and thickens and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the stock, milk and browned meat.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated away and the mixture resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the sauce should release occasional small bubbles. If you have a small burner you should use it; the larger burners even at their lowest setting might cook the sauce too quickly. If the sauce reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of stock or water and continue cooking; repeat if necessary. The sauce needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Use the back of a spoon to break up any remaining clumps of meat for an even-textured sauce. Season with salt and keep warm.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta. If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes. If using dry, cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions.
• Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain the pasta and transfer to the sauce. Increase the heat to medium, bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, tossing the pasta constantly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce is slightly thickened, adding pasta cooking liquid if necessary, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the pasta to a platter and top with grated Parmesan.

SIMPLE BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• 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 very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute, stirring frequently and 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. This will take approximately 1/2 hour. Finish bolognese with Pecorino Romano.

EASY SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Put 1 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, add the beef and fry until well browned. Tip out into a dish and repeat with 1 tbsp oil and the pork. Tip the pork into the dish with the beef and put the pan back on the heat with the remaining oil. Turn the heat down and cook the shallots for 8-10 mins or until very soft, then add the garlic. Tip the meat back into the pan and add the passata, purée, wine and oregano. Stir everything together, cover and simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 mins.
• Cook the spaghetti following pack instructions, then stir half the parmesan into the Bolognese. Put a spoonful of the pasta water into the sauce to loosen it if it looks too thick, then drain the spaghetti. For a better flavour, tip the pasta onto the sauce, toss everything together to coat, and season well (or serve with the sauce on top). Add the remaining parmesan and a few basil leaves.

BEEF BOLOGNESE - DELISH!

Steps:

• In a food processor, pulse the onions, garlic, celery and carrots until finely chopped.
• In a Dutch oven (or large soup pot), heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion mixture with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the broth and the red and white wines and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce, ketchup, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. black pepper. Bring to a boil,then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. Check on it occasionally during the cooking time and add more broth or tomato sauce if a saucier consitency is desired.
• Remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Serve the beef bolognese over any pasta and enjoy!

BEEF BOLOGNESE WITH LINGUINE

Steps:

• In a stockpot, cook half the beef over medium heat until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles, 8-10 minutes. Remove beef with a slotted spoon; set aside. Pour off drippings. Repeat with remaining beef., In the same stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery; cook and stir until tender. Stir in 1 cup tomato paste; cook and stir 3 minutes longer. Add garlic, seasonings and beef., Stir in wine. Bring to a boil; cook until almost evaporated. Add tomatoes, stock and bay leaves; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until desired consistency, about 3 hours, stirring in milk halfway through cooking., Remove bay leaves. Stir in cheese and remaining tomato paste; heat through. Serve with linguine and, if desired, additional cheese.