Main Course Pasta

Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

Pasta+with+Bolognese+Sauce.jpg

Makes 4 main course servings.

This sauce is as an all year favorite of mine that I keep in the freezer to have on hand. You can use any shape pasta.

INGREDIENTS:

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped

  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 2 carrots, finely chopped

  • ¾ cup dry red wine

  • 1 pound chopped meat, a blend of ½ pound veal and ½ pound beef

  • 26.46 ounce carton of chopped tomatoes (Pomi)

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste, double concentrated

  • 1 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, finely chopped  

  • Kosher salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 pound imported rigatoni, or any other shaped pasta

PREPARATION:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan.

  2. Add the vegetables and sauté over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the meat and stir until the color of the meat changes.

  3. Add the wine, tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat and simmer covered for about 1 hour, stirring from time to time. Add the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. In a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the rigatoni. Stir and boil briskly, uncovered for 7 minutes. The pasta should be VERY al dente. It will continue cooking in the hot sauce.

  5. Combine with the hot sauce and season to taste.

NOTE:

I chop the vegetables in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. The onions and garlic can be chopped together and the carrots separately. Please quarter the vegetables first.