Bolognese Sauce

One of my goals is to create the perfect pasta sauce. I don't care if it's quick, time consuming, easy, hard, or complicated, I just want to create the perfect pasta sauce. While I love a good marinara, this bolognese was pretty darn close to perfection! By using a variety of meats, I was able to obtain a good depth in flavor. There are several ingredients, but all of them blend together to make a delicious meat sauce that sticks wonderfully to pasta - just toss in the pasta at the end and toss. As an alternative, use this sauce with ricotta and lasagna sheets to make a delicious meat lasagna! Enjoy :o)

Bolognese Sauce

Makes Enough for one 11x13 lasagna 

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage (no casing)

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 cup beef stock

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the sausage, beef, and pork and cook until browned and cooked through. Add the carrots, onion, celery, and a pinch of salt and cook until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes more. 

Stir in the tomato paste to coat the meat and vegetable mixture. Once coated, add the beef stock and bring to a simmer. Allow the meat and stock mixture to simmer for 5 minutes or until it has reduced by about half. Add the crushed tomatoes and dried herbs (you could also use an Italian Herb seasoning blend here). Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat to medium low, and cover. Cook the sauce at a light simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from sticking or burning.

After the sauce has cooked for 30 minutes, remove the lid and season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking with the lid off until desired thickness is reached, about 5 minutes.

Toss with pasta, or use in a lasagna for a yummy meal! :o)