The Lake Kitchen

Sunday Night Bolognese

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I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Bolognese and have been tweaking my recipe for sometime now and I’m excited to share with you my Sunday Night Bolognese recipe!

Bolognese is one of my favorite dishes to order at an Italian restaurant and I wanted to create a recipe that replicates what I love about Bolognese in a one pot recipe with great flavor that we can enjoy at home.

What I just love about a Bolognese is that you get big flavor from the beef and pork sausage, balsamic vinegar, red wine and beef broth. All those flavors blend together and create a really deep, rich, delicious sauce.

Now this recipe seems like it has a lot of ingredients, and it does, but don’t be intimidated – it’s really not that difficult and I promise you, it’ll be worth it!

Tips and Tricks for this Bolognese Recipe

  • I use a food processor to dice up the onion, garlic and carrots and that allows you to really easily get all of those ingredients chopped into a similar size quickly.
  • This recipe makes a large batch and you’ll probably have some leftovers. You can freeze the sauce in a mason jar or in Ziplock bags and you’ll have a delicious meal in the freezer ready to pop out, warm it up and serve it, I promise it will be just as delicious as the day you took it off of the stove.
  • I highly suggest using Parmigiano-Reggiano, the flavor can’t be beat. Look for blocks of it in you cheese section. You know its the good stuff when it has a rind with an a stencil saying Parmigiano-Reggiano on it. Cut off the rind and pop it in the sauce with the rest of the ingredients, it adds great flavor, make sure to remove it before using.
  • I buy big block of Parmigiano-Reggiano at Costco and when I am down to just the rind I keep it in a plastic bag in my freezer and pull it out for recipes like this.

Serving Suggestions with Sunday Night Bolognese

  • A nice glass of wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Brunello di Montalcino. A bold wine will really stand up against the flavors of the Bolognese!
  • Kale Caesar salad – This would be a great accompaniment to my Sunday Bolognese!
  • Grilled asparagus.

But don’t feel like you have to serve anything along with the Bolognese, honestly you’re getting a carbohydrates from the pasta, protein from the sausage and beef, dairy from the cheese and it even has vegetables so you’re really getting a very well rounded meal!

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Sunday Night Bolognese

  • Author: Jill Sharpe
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 6
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound ground beef (I use organic, grass feed, 85/15)
  • 1 pound ground pork sausage
  • 3 medium carrots, cut into quarters
  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 cups beef broth (or 1 TBL beef bouillon and 2 cups water)
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup red wine (I use a Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
  • 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1, 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 1, 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • ½ –1 ½ teaspoons salt, to taste
  • 1 ½ cup divided, Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
  • 2 pounds pasta

Instructions

  1.  In a large, wide, heavy bottomed sauce pot (you can also use a large skillet) over high heat add the beef and sausage and cook until browned, breaking up with the back of a spatula while cooking. 
  2.  While you are browning the meat, place the carrots, onion and garlic into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until vegetables are the size of peas. Add to the pot with the browned meats.
  3.  Pour in the broth, vinegar and wine and scrape the bottom and sides of the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and add the bay leaf, thyme, syrup, soy sauce, tomatoes, salt and parmesan cheese. Lightly simmer for 35-60 minutes. Remove the bay leave and Parmigiano-Reggiano rind if using.
  4. 10 minutes before serving bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and put back into the pot. Spoon desired amount of sauce on to the pasta and toss. 
  5. Top with more parmesan cheese and serve.
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: bolognese, Sunday night bolognese