Weeknight bolognese

I picked up a pound of grass-fed ground beef from a winter farmers' market on Sunday, so I decided to make Ina's weeknight bolognese, from her new cookbook. Believe it or not, I don't know if I've ever done pasta with meat sauce before. I know my dad and other members of my extended family wouldn't really bother eating pasta without meat in it, but I'm just not that big of a meat eater.

First, I browned the meat; then mixed in red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Toss together momentarily, then pour in some white wine. Stir up the brown bits, then pour in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and pepper. I was super excited about my crushed tomatoes: organic fire-roasted tomatoes from Whole Foods - on sale. Booyah.

While the sauce is simmering, you can start the pasta water boiling. For a change of pace, I bought some orecchiette (Ina suggests shells or these). They are cute little tortoise shell-shaped pasta that stick adorably to the side of the pan so that they look like they're tiny turtles trying to climb out.

When you pour in the pasta, it's time to finish the sauce by pouring in a little more wine, some cream, and some basil strips. When the pasta is done, toss it all together with a half-cup of parmigiano reggiano and serve hot.


So. Good. The little pasta shells hold the meat really well, and the basil was a really nice touch. I can't believe it was done in under half an hour ("weeknight" bolognese, after all!), and I'm actually really excited to have it again for lunch tomorrow. We finished off the beautiful apple tart for dessert, so it was a really good night!