Here today bringing you my favorite Bolognese sauce; a thick tomato-based meat sauce made with pork, beef, and fresh herbs, makes for a perfect pasta dish.
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My Favorite Dish
My mom made spaghetti with meat sauce often when I was growing up and it has remained my favorite dish my entire life. Bolognese sauce is similar but taken to a higher level.
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What is Bolognese Sauce?
Bolognese is not your typical marinara spaghetti sauce. It is thick and rich with the addition of wine and a milk base to give it a great depth of flavor and provide a creamy texture.
Bolognese sauce originates from Bologna, Italy and is traditionally served with wide noodles such as tagliatelle or fettuccine and is often found in lasagna dishes.
As I have yet to develop my own low carb pasta, I served my Bolognese sauce with gluten free spaghetti noodles. The sauce is also great served with penne, as the sauce buries itself inside the tubes of pasta.
How to make Bolognese Sauce
The complexity of flavors that come from the sauce are all in the ingredients and cooking time. The process is quite simple.
In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the pancetta in olive oil until crisp. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until translucent. To the vegetables, add the ground beef and cook until browned.
Stir in the tomato paste, wine, and beef broth and allow to cook down for 10 minutes. Next, add the seasonings, herbs, and tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Cooking the Pasta
Start the water for the pasta the last 20-25 minutes of cooking the sauce. Always save some of the cooking liquid right before draining the pasta. The water contains starches from the pasta and helps adhere the sauce to the pasta.
Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce with approximately 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and/or fresh parsley. s
Looking for more great low carb pasta substitutions? Check out our chicken, pancetta, and mascarpone zoodles, keto lasagna and spaghetti squash lasagna recipes.
Chicken zoodle recipe Keto lasagna Spaghetti squash lasagna
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Bolognese Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 plus servings 1x
- Category: Sauces
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A thick tomato-based meat sauce made with pork, beef, and fresh herbs makes for the perfect pasta dish.
Ingredients
For the sauce:
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1 pound ground beef, 90/10
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, small dice
1/4 cup carrot, small dice
1/4 cup celery, small dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup tomatoes, diced
2/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef broth
6 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup grated parmesan
kosher salt, as needed
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground
For the garnish:
freshly grated parmesan-reggiano
fresh basil, chiffonade
fresh parsly, chopped
Pasta:
approximately 2 pounds
Instructions
In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the pancetta in olive oil until crisp.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook until translucent.
To the vegetables, add the ground beef and cook until browned.
Stir in the tomato paste, wine,and beef broth. Allow to cook down for 10 minutes.
Add the seasonings, herbs, and tomatoes and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Cook the pasta as instructed, reserving 1/4 cup of liquid before draining.
Add the pasta to the sauce and reserved liquid.
Garnish with parmesan and fresh basil and/or parsley.
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