Best Bolognese

We officially have a Halloween tradition in the Simon house.  For three years now, I've made a big pot of spaghetti with meat sauce (Bolognese if we're bein' fancy) and opened up the doors to friends and family before Trick-or-Treating.  After a third round of rave reviews and inquiries for a recipe, I spent today recreating my ragu.  It's nothing fancy, no surprising ingredients or creative techniques.  This is down and dirty, darn good sauce that will please the masses, including the youngest Simon.

(Full printable recipe at the bottom of this post.)

Start with browning 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef and 1 pound of mild Italian sausage (unless you're spicy, then go with hot sausage).

Then chop up 1 red pepper, 1 white onion, 1 green bell pepper and saute over medium high heat in a large pot with 1 Tbs. olive oil.  Once the veggies soften, reduce heat to medium low and add in 5 cloves of mashed and minced garlic, 2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, 2 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon ground fennel seed, and 2 teaspoon dried oregano.  Mix the spices with the veggies until the spices become fragrant (2 to 3 minutes).

Strain off half of the fat from the browned meat and add the meat to the veggie pot.  Also add in 1 pint of halved grape tomatoes and stir to mix everything together and allow to heat and flavors mingle for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add in 14.5 ounces of canned crushed tomatoes, 14.5 ounces tomato sauce, 14.5 ounces water, 6 ounces tomato paste and ¼ cup balsamic vinegar and mix everything together.

Turn up the heat to high until the sauce starts to simmer and then reduce to medium low and let it sit uncovered slowly simmering for at least an hour (the longer the better).  The sauce will reduce and thicken and the flavors will intensify over time.

Serve over pasta!  A quick note about pasta.  After you drain the water, do not rinse the pasta in cold water.  Pasta is porous and rinsing it will fill those holes with water, making them unable to absorb your tasty sauce.  If you're not serving it immediately and ladling on the sauce, then toss the pasta with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.  But, rinsing it in water will make your sauce become a watery puddle under your pasta.  Don't rinse your pasta.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing saga of cameras, these shots were taken with two different cameras.  Photog freaks, any preferences and any guess on which is which? 😉

*Original recipe by Joanie Simon (joaniesimon.com)

Best Bolognese

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Joanie Simon
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
• Yield: 10
• Category: Pasta
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Classic comfort food pasta bolognese.

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Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb mild Italian sausage
• 1 red pepper
• 1 white onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp granulated garlic
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground fennel seed
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 14.5 oz canned crushed tomatoes
• 14/5 oz tomato sauce
• 14.5 oz water
• 6 oz tomato paste
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

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Instructions

1. Start with browning 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef and 1 pound of mild Italian sausage (unless you're spicy, then go with hot sausage).
2. Then chop up 1 red pepper, 1 white onion, 1 green bell pepper and saute over medium high heat in a large pot with 1 Tbs. olive oil. Once the veggies soften, reduce heat to medium low and add in 5 cloves of mashed and minced garlic, 2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, 2 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon ground fennel seed, and 2 teaspoon dried oregano. Mix the spices with the veggies until the spices become fragrant (2 to 3 minutes).
3. Strain off half of the fat from the browned meat and add the meat to the veggie pot. Also add in 1 pint of halved grape tomatoes and stir to mix everything together and allow to heat and flavors mingle for 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Add in 14.5 ounces of canned crushed tomatoes, 14.5 ounces tomato sauce, 14.5 ounces water, 6 ounces tomato paste and ¼ cup balsamic vinegar and mix everything together.
5. Turn up the heat to high until the sauce starts to simmer and then reduce to medium low and let it sit uncovered slowly simmering for at least an hour (the longer the better). The sauce will reduce and thicken and the flavors will intensify over time.

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