Smoky, thick, rich…Delicious!
Remember those cartoons on tv when a character would literally be led by his nose to the aroma of food? Sometimes he’d be floating on air towards the delicious dish. 
That is the experience that you’ll get (well…maybe not the floating on air part) when you try this Bolognese sauce. And, if you think the aroma is delicious, wait until you taste it!
Bolognese Sauce is a meat based sauce for pasta. Authentic recipes include more vegetables and some have only a small amount of tomato in them. Joyce’s sauce includes plenty of tomato and one ingredient you rarely see – Tomato Juice.
My first experience with Joyce’s (my mother in law) Bolognese was over 17 years ago. She made it for Greg as it’s his favorite “coming home” meal and Joyce continues to prepare it whenever we visit her in the Denver area. It simmers for 24 hours on her stove top and takes some stirring. Greg enjoys making the sauce at home and has made it his own now by using a crock pot for it. We serve it with pasta and turkey Italian sausage but I’ve eaten it before by simply dipping chunks of Parmesan Cheese in it. Delicious!
The secret to this dish is the Tomato Juice and the long slow simmer.
The sauce has a smoky taste that is incredible with red wine.
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 chopped yellow onion
- 4 large cloves garlic, crushed
- 2-3 cans (6 oz) tomato paste
- 2-3 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 1-24 oz container of tomato juice
- Dry Italian seasonings to taste
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- cooked pasta
- shaved parmesan cheese
- mozzarella cheese
- provolone cheese
- cooked sausage
Preparation:
In a large skillet, brown ground beef, breaking up while the meat cooks. Add onion and garlic after about 5 minutes; cook until onion is just tender. Drain well. Transfer ground meat mixture to the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, sausage and cheese. Cover and cook on LOW for 24 hours, stirring every hour or so (we turn the pot off when we sleep and start it again when we wake). Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom when you stir. This sauce will reduce by about 20%.
Place mozzarella and provolone over your favorite pasta and spoon the sauce over that. Serve with Sausage and Bell Pepper Bake and sprinkle with shaved Parmesan cheese.
We drank an Italian red wine with the Bolognese Dinner. It was a Villa Antinoni Toscana 2004. A tasty blend of Sangiovese, Cab, Merlot and Syrah.
