I’ve found over the years that the way to my husband’s heart is to cook him Italian food. I do not have an ounce of Italian blood in me, but he is, and he has always told me his favorite cuisine is Italian. One day I will have enough time on my hands to make homemade pasta to go with this incredible sauce,  but this bolognese is enough to impress anyone. It does require quite a bit of cooking time, but is incredible to have on a Sunday with some homemade garlic bread and family and friends around the table. Let me know what you think. 

Serves 4-6

Cook time: 3-4 hours total

For this incredible Bolognese you will need:

1 medium onion roughly chopped

2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped

1 celery stalk roughly chopped 

8 oz. cremini mushrooms roughly chopped

6 cloves garlic smashed

2 tbsp olive oil

6 oz spicy Italian sausage (casings removed) 

12 oz ground beef (80/20)

3 tbsp tomato paste

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

1 small bunch of thyme (tied together)

½ cup red wine

1 (28) oz can whole peeled tomatoes hand crushed

1 cup beef broth

Add onion, carrots and celery to a food processor and pulse to a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl. Add mushrooms and garlic to the food processor and blend to a fine paste as well. (If you do not have a food processor, finely chop your veggies and garlic). Set aside. 

In a large pot add olive oil and heat until hot. Add the sausage and ground beef and cook without moving the meat until it’s browned on one side. Continue to cook, breaking up the meat until it is fully browned. (That fond at the bottom is where all the flavor is going to be!) Add in your vegetable mixture and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid in the veggies reduces, and the mixture becomes dry. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Add in tomato paste and cook for two minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add in red pepper flakes and bay leaves. 

Deglaze with red wine and cook for 1 minute. Stir in your hand crushed tomatoes and broth. Add in the thyme, bring to a simmer, reduce to low and then cover with a lid for at least 2-4 hours on low. Uncover your pot halfway through cooking. I like to serve this over some al dente pasta with olive oil and pecorino romano over top.