Quick and Easy Bolognese Sauce

Don't ask me why, but recently, I've been craving spaghetti bolognese. Not sure why, but it has been on my mind. With no recipe immediately available to me, I took to the internet to search. I'm sure that there are many wonderful bolognese recipes out there, in fact, some of you reading my blog may have special family recipes, but for my craving, I turn to one man: Gordon Ramsay. We all know I idolize him. He is my favorite and he has never let me down yet.

I was delighted to find that my main man Gordon has a bolognese recipe. Not only did he have a recipe, it was super easy and fast --- perfect for a busy student. It seems Gordon cooked this recipe on one of his shows, so there was a youtube video and everything! I studied, bought my groceries, and was ready to go.

Now, whilst the recipe I've written here is pretty much based on Gordon Ramsay, I've made some modifications. For example, instead of beef, I used a healthier ground chicken option. Good gracious, this is a prime example of when healthy eating backfires. The ground chicken was as sad and flavorless as it gets. I highly recommend using either ground beef (like in Gordon's original recipe) or ground turkey (if you want a healthier recipe). Also, Gordon uses dried oregano, but since I didn't have any dried oregano, I used herbs de Provence. Still tasted delicious. 

This is a simple and fast recipe that is perfect for a weeknight family dinner. You can serve it with pasta or for those who want a healthier option or want to try something different, serve this with spaghetti squash (that's what I did!) 

Ingredients:

- 1 lb ground meat*

- 1 onion, grated

- 1 carrot, grated

- couple garlic gloves, crushed

- herbes de Provence, to taste (or whatever seasoning you like)

- tomato paste, 1 tbsp

- red wine, 250 mL

- 16 oz can of chopped tomatoes

- Worcestershire sauce, few dashes

- milk, 2 tbsp

- salt & pepper, to taste

- olive oil, 1 tbsp

Optional additional ingredients:

- a bit of sugar

- Heinz beans in tomato sauce

- soy sauce

I thought my sauce needed a bit of sweetness, so I added a bit of each of these ingredients. It's completely optional and up to you!

Directions:

1. Grate your onion and carrots. You may be wondering, "why grate them?" It allows them to cook faster and they melt down nicely. 

2. Heat olive oil in a pan. Making sure it's smoking hot. 

3. Add the onion and carrots. Sweat for several minutes. You want the veggies soft, but not browned. 

4. Add the garlic and mix well. 

5. Add some seasoning at this point. Gordon Ramsay used dried oregano, but I used herbs de Provence. It's really up to you. Also include salt and pepper!

6. Make a well in the center of your pan and add the ground meat. 

Quickly mix and meat into the vegetables. 

7. Make a well in the center of the pan again and add tomato paste. Mix well. 

8. Add red wine and reduce. 

9. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Mix well. 

10. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and some more seasoning (if needed). You want to make sure your bolognese taste yummy!

11. Allow pot to simmer for about 10 minutes. Right before serving, add milk. 

Et voila! Simple, fast, gorgeous, and delicious bolognese sauce! Instead of pasta, I served mine with spaghetti squash.