Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

This recipe was tough to come up with, but I think this is the closest I could get to how we make it. We've made it a lot and it had always turned out slightly different until we finally starting paying attention to how much of each ingredient we were putting in. This is one of my favorite sauces and it can be used in different ways. It makes a great lasagna or any baked pasta dish. It is a little time consuming, but you could always make extra and freeze it. I've done that before and it keeps really well and then throwing together lasagna is easy. We chop the ingredients in a food processor to make them really small, almost a puree, but you could certainly make a more rustic dish by chopping the vegetables a little more chunky. We've also experimented this way and it is also great. The vegetables are what give this sauce its flavor and make it one of our favorites.

Bolognese Sauce

1 large white onion

3 carrots

3 celery stalks

1 lb ground beef

3 cans tomato sauce with no herbs added

3-4 Tbls olive oil

3 Tbls Heavy Whipping Cream

Salt to taste

Freshly grated parmesean

1 lb pasta

In a large saucepan pour about 3 tablespoons olive oil.

In a food processor, or with a food chopper (or more labor intensive with a knife) finely chop the onion, then the carrots, then the celery. They should be very small.

Heat the pan to medium heat and cook the vegetables in the oil to soften. When they become soft and transluscent, add the ground beef and crumble it as you put it in. The meat and vegetables should cook together, add more oil of necessary. Salt the mixture and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through. Don't get the heat too high.

Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 45 min.

Stir in the heavy cream. The sauce will turn orange in color. Salt to taste.

Serve warm over pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. A really good parmesean will add saltiness to the dish, so don't put too much in the sauce.

Note: Good types of pasta for this dish are fettucine, penne, farfalle(bow ties), and rigatoni.

Another Note: I may have to make changes after my husband reads this:)