An authentic bolognese takes half the day to make, but you and I both know none of us have time for that. Why not go for something a little faster, but just as delicious?
While digging through my pile of cookbooks, I found one that is absolutely dedicated to dutch oven recipes. Since I’m always looking for ways to change up our dinner routine, taking a pasta dish and putting a spin on it felt appropriate, and the book happened to have a pretty solid one-pot bolognese recipe in it.
I’ve made this a few times now and have customized it to suit our tastes; you are, of course free to do the same. It’s a little more complex than my usual nightly fare, but it’s still pretty simple and lasts for a couple of days to feed the two of us. That’s really all I need from a good recipe.
A couple of notes before I toss you to the recipe.
- It calls for pancetta. I couldn’t find it the first time I made it, so I subbed in bacon. You get a bit of a smokey flavor if you do, but it works just fine otherwise.
- Your choice of pasta is entirely your call. Traditionally it calls for pappardelle, but I usually just use fettuccine. Anything long and flat works.
- The original recipe calls for cooking wine, but I never use cooking wine. A dash of red wine vinegar or some sherry works fine.
Don’t forget some garlic bread on the side!
Fast One-Pot Bolognese
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Food Processor
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 Lb Ground Beef Leaner is better
- ¼ Tsp Baking Soda
- 6 Oz Pancetta
- 1 Onion
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Celery Rib
- 1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- ¼ Cup Sherry Alternatively, a couple tbsp of red wine vinegar
- 4 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 Oz Grated Parmesan The real stuff, please
- 1 Lb Fettuccine Or other long, flat pasta
Instructions
- In a bowl, toss the beef with two tablespoons of water, the baking soda, and some ground pepper, and set it aside.
- Put the pancetta in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and pulse more until it all forms a paste.
- Heat the butter and oil in your dutch oven over medium-high. Add the pancetta/veg paste and a dash of pepper and cook for about 8 minutes to cook off some liquid.
- Spread the mixture out throughout the bottom of the dutch oven and keep cooking, stirring occasionally, for another ~10 minutes. Some of it will brown and stick to the bottom; that's what you want.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for about two more minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add in the beef, and cook, breaking the meat up with your spatula. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, until the beef is no longer pink.
- Add in your sherry/vinegar (or a cup of wine) and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom as you stir. Cook until it evaporates and thickens, about five more minutes.
- Add in the broth, parmesan, and about a cup and a half of water. Bring this to a simmer and reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for another 20 minutes.
- Bring heat back up to medium-high and bring it to a boil. Add in the pasta and cook, stirring, until the pasta is done, about 10-12 minutes.
- Adjust consistency by cooking a bit more or adding a bit more water, season with salt and pepper, and serve topped with more parmesan. Enjoy!