Comfort food: one pot bolognese recipe
October 31, 2019
I may not know how to spell it, but I sure know how to eat it. Bolognese is my absolute favorite comfort food. It is my go-to on a snowy, winter day. It is the food I turn to when I need a hearty meal and a happy stomach. This is my soul-food. In fact, one time during high school, I said out loud during English class, “Huh, that’s weird. I just got a whiff of bolognese.”
Understandably, no one really cared, nor responded — it was a pretty mundane observation. However, when I arrived home, I was shocked and pleased to find the pot bubbling away on the stove. My nose had sensed some much-needed sustenance from miles away.
It’s easy and quick to prepare, but it cooks for a long time — three hours on low heat. But the long-term gratification is well worth the wait. I encourage you to give it a try when you’re chilled to the bone on a November weekend.
This recipe makes enough for four people, so I would cut it in half for one person.
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp minced onion
2 Tbsp minced celery
2 Tbsp minced carrot
3/4 pound ground beef (or, optionally, 1/2 lb beef + 1/4 lb pork)
A pinch of salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 28oz can whole tomatoes packed in juice, chopped fine, with juice reserved
Directions:
In a large pot or dutch oven, melt butter on medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot. Sauté until softened but not brown, around six minutes.
Add ground beef and 1/2 teaspoon salt, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat into small pieces, stirring frequently, until the meat loses its pink color but has not yet browned.
Add milk and reduce to a simmer until milk evaporates and only clear fat remains, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add white wine and continue simmering until wine evaporates, about 10-15 minutes more.
Add tomatoes and juice, continuing on low heat, so that the sauce occasionally bubbles once or twice at the surface.
Switch into the slow cooker and simmer for 3 hours until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Enjoy over al dente pasta and with a sprinkle of parmesan and pepper.