Bolognese sauce, or simple meat sauce, is a long-standing classic staple of Italian cuisine, not to mention a worldwide favourite. For many, Italian food is seen as comfort food and authentic Bolognese sauce is one of the hinge pins. There’s something so honest about a rich tomato sauce simmered with herb-seasoned ground meat. Nothing complicated; a handful of simple ingredients escapes pretence when assembled.
One of the things I’ve always liked about Italian cuisine is the myriad ways of making delicious flavours; every one of them is correct.
I see many chefs and food bloggers tinkering about different ingredients and methods to make variations of something so tried and true. I’m no further; here I am, using ground chicken instead of beef. One of the ideals I try to retain is keeping it simple and letting the ingredients do the talking.
By now, you’re likely saying, “But why are you using chicken; what’s wrong with beef?” Or “That isn’t a proper authentic Bolognese sauce, so you can’t call it that” In truth, I used chicken because not everyone in my family can digest or process beef as quickly as chicken. Also, it’s because I can procure a decent source of ground chicken for the time being. So, for now, chicken it is. If you want to use beef (or pork or veal, for that matter), fly at it. I sometimes find that those who pedantically follow rule books can miss out on the chance to create chaos.
Rich and Authentic Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - roughly chopped
1 stalk celery - roughly chopped
1 medium carrots - peeled and roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic - roasted
1 pound ground chicken (minced chicken)
1 cup chicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon) - beef or vegetable
19 ounces passata or crushed tomatoes (tomato puree with seeds removed)
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 leaves bay leaf (bay leaves)
1 cup red wine
Instructions
- Rough chop the onion, celery, and carrot and place in a food processor with the roasted garlic and stock. Blend it until it’s smooth (about 5 to 10 seconds). Set aside
- Heat a saucepan, and add the olive oil.
- Once the oil is good and hot, lay in the ground chicken and stir it until it browns up.
- Add the blended stock, dry spices and wine; then add the tomato crush and stir until thoroughly mixed.
- Let simmer, occasionally stirring, for 20 to 60 minutes, depending on how thick you like your sauce or how much time you have.
- Serve over your favourite pasta, and enjoy!
