This is just as delicious as those simmer-all-day-long sauces, but in a fraction of the time thanks to the help of a high quality store-bought sauce!
You can really make this recipe your own depending on how plant-forward or meat-forward you choose to eat.
The key for me is the vino. That's what takes this from "just another sauce" to "hot dam* this is good"!
I also tried a little secret technique to get the veggies to disappear and just meld into the sauce. That's not so I can "HIDE" veggies for my kids as I don't believe in that. Instead, its to keep the consistency and texture of the dish.
Bon Appetit!
Ingredients:
1 9oz container of mushrooms, minced
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 cup carrots, roughly chopped
1 cup celery, roughly chopped
1 cup sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 lb ground chicken (traditional Bolognese calls for ground beef, so you can use that, ground chicken, ground turkey, or even crumbled extra firm tofu)
1 lb ground pork (same as above)
1 32 oz jar store-bought marinara (I love Michael's of Brooklyn)
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
1 cup good red wine (we order our from an amazing winery in Washington State called Pondera Winery)
salt to taste
1-2 lb wide pasta noodles, such as pappardelle or tagliatelle
Parmesan cheese to taste
Directions:
In a large saucepan cook mushrooms until browned on medium high heat, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add EVOO, carrots, celery, and onions and sauté until they're just tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan, pulse in food process for 10-15 seconds, then return to pan along with mushrooms and both meats of choice.
Cook until browned, breaking up the meat as you stir.
Pour in jar of store-bought marinara sauce and tomato sauce and simmer.
After about 10 minutes pour in 1/2 cup of wine. Let simmer for about 10 minutes and pour in second 1/2 cup of wine. Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens.
Optional: When the sauce has reached your desired consistency, stir in the heavy cream.
Remove from heat, and serve over your favorite pasta—we like to use pappardelle or tagliatelle—and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Compliments to The Modern Proper for the recipe inspo!