Delicious meat sauce - great for pasta and lasagna
By Robie Benve
Bologna gets its name from the Italian city
Bologna, Italy - [get directions]Delicious meat sauce
Yummy meat sauce with hidden vegie servings
This meat sauce, known also as Bolognese sauce , makes any pasta dish very yummy.
It is best when accompanied with textured pasta, that has lines or grooves on it, so the sauce sticks to it better. My favorites are penne and shells. I love when the shells fill up with the sauce! I also use it on gnocchi and this meat sauce is definitely the main ingredient in my wonderful homemade lasagna.
The best thing is that it makes my children go "Yay", they love this sauce, andI know that when they eat a pasta dish with my meat sauce, they are also getting a nice portion of veggies with it. In fact, this is a great way to sneak veggies into the diet of those children that are a little resistant to the healthy diet idea. They will get their veggie servings and not even know it!
What does Bolognese mean?
The meat sauce is called Bolognese because it's typical of Bologna, which is a pretty city in Italy (nothing to do with the deli meat).
Cook Time
- Prep time:
- Cook time:
- Ready in:
- Yields: serves 8 people
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground beef, lean
- 3 Carrots, big
- 3 Celery sticks
- 1 Onion, medium size
- 3 Garlic, cloves
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, (EVOO)
- 3 cans Whole tomatoes
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper, ground
- 3 Bay leaves
Instructions
- In a food processor, mince the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.
- In big non-stick pot pour the EVOO, one cup of water, and the minced vegetables. Cook over medium heat until softer, for about 10 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep moist.
- Add the ground meat, stirring well and braking any meat lumps down. Continue cooking on medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- In a blender or food processor, puree the whole tomatoes and add to the pot, including their can juice. Add the tomato paste and the bay leaves as well.
- Stir and cover. Once it starts boiling, lower the stove temperature and let it simmer, stirring every now and then, for about 60 minutes.
- Add butter and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Cooks tips
- For a "redder" sauce, you can increase the quantity of whole tomatoes, or substitute with crushed tomato cans.
- Add some heavy cream right before serving, to make it like the creamy pink sauce they serve and many restaurants.
- For added yummy taste, sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese on your pasta dish.
It's really hard to tell there are veggies in there, at least from the taste. You can kind of see the orange speckles of the carrots, but you are right, it tests great. Thanks for the nice comment! :)
Is that your lasagna in the photo? Yummy! Thanks for the post on the sauce, I have been looking for one that to try -- instead of the store bought that I used to get. Voted up!
Hi teaches,
that is y lasagna, I make it with the meat sauce above and bechamel sauce. I always make extra sauce and I freeze it in plastic containers, so I am not tempted to buy the store made one (which is very convenient, but just not the same).
Scribenet 3 months ago
Great way to incorporate veggies into a meal! I never thought to process the veggies...even though I love veggies, I bet they taste great this way. Great Hub!