These Little Tricks Will Make Your Bolognese Taste Even Better!

ground beef

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground pork

Ground turkey is leaner and lower in fat.

red wine

🥗Healthier: grape juice

💰Cheaper: beef broth

Grape juice provides sweetness without alcohol.

Parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated pecorino

Nutritional yeast is a dairy-free alternative.

canned tomatoes

🥗Healthier: fresh tomatoes

💰Cheaper: crushed tomatoes

Fresh tomatoes add brightness, while crushed are often cheaper.

Create a mirepoix with 2 onions, 2 carrots, and 2 celery stalks (optional) by grating them on the larger side of a box grater.

Grate 4 cloves of garlic using a fine microplane to create a paste.

Dice 200 grams of streaky bacon into medium-sized pieces, ensuring they are not too small to avoid burning.

Roughly chop 200 grams of sun-dried tomatoes.

Chop 10 grams each of oregano, rosemary, and basil leaves, scrunching them into a tight bunch for easier chopping.

Place a large pot or high-rimmed pan over high heat and add the diced streaky bacon, frying for 3 minutes while moving it around regularly to render the fat.

Add the mirepoix (grated onion, carrot, and celery) to the pot and sauté for 4 minutes, stirring regularly to extract flavor.

Add the garlic paste, chopped oregano, and chopped rosemary, seasoning generously with sea salt flakes, and mix for 2 minutes to infuse flavors.

Introduce 500 grams of beef mince and 500 grams of pork mince, breaking them up and mixing them with the other ingredients while browning for 6-7 minutes.

Season the meat with sea salt flakes halfway through cooking.

Once browned, deglaze the pot with 1 cup (250 milliliters) of cheap red wine, bringing it to a boil and reducing for 2 minutes.

Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and chopped basil, along with 2 cans of diced tomatoes (800 grams) and a splash of water to rinse out the cans.

Season with sea salt flakes and 20 cracks of black pepper, mixing well to combine.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the lid, mix the sauce, and check for seasoning, adjusting if necessary.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for an additional 15 minutes before turning off the heat.

In a separate large saucepan, bring water to a boil and season generously with salt.

Add 150 grams of spaghetti per serving, letting it sit for 20 seconds before twisting it in and cooking according to package instructions (7-11 minutes).

Once cooked, either add the spaghetti directly to the bolognese sauce or to a mixing bowl, reserving some pasta water.

Mix the spaghetti with the bolognese sauce, adding reserved pasta water as needed to help the sauce stick.

Serve the spaghetti in bowls, topping with bolognese sauce, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, freshly cracked black pepper, and a fresh basil leaf.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

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Dietary

Allergens