Bolognese Sauce

I love the smell of a rich sauce cooking on the stove over the course of a Sunday afternoon. Now that Autumn has officially made it's way here, our days are crisp and perfect for slow cooking. This sauce, made and tweaked from a recipe found in Dinner: A Love Story, was chosen for two very important reasons.

1. It's easy.

2. It can easily be doubled (or even tripled) and frozen.

It's extraordinarily rich and thick, so if you are including a wee one in the meal, you might want to scoop a little out and give it a quick puree for that little mouth. Make sure you have some crusty bread to sop up the extras, and serve it over a thick noodle to capture all of the flavors.

This version is double the original recipe, so if you want to simply make enough for a dinner or two, half the ingredients you see below.


You need:

olive oil
2 small onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 lbs. ground beef, grass fed and lean
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. fennel seeds
2 tsp. suagr
1/2 c. red wine
1 28-oz. can of diced tomatoes still in their juices
1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. oregano

Add the oil into a large, heavy dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onions are just translucent, about 5 minutes. Push everything to the side of the pot and add the meat. Cook until almost no pink remains. Stir into the onions. Add the tomato paste, fennel seeds, sugar,  and wine. Stir together and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the tomatoes and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, and cook for 1 hour.

If you are going to freeze half, cool before placing into freezer bags.