Homemade Bolognese Sauce Recipe: A Versatile Delight - Juice of Seven Lemons (2024)

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If you’re looking for a hearty, comforting meal that can be dressed up or down, our homemade bolognese sauce recipe is just what you need. This classic Italian sauce is perfect for a cozy date night at home, and it’s even better the next day as leftovers. But bolognese isn’t just delicious—it’s also incredibly versatile. You can use it in a variety of dishes, from lasagna to shepherd’s pie, and it freezes beautifully for future meals.

Mastering Mise en Place for Flavorful Results

Making homemade bolognese sauce does require a little bit of time but trust us—it’s worth it. Most of the time required is hands off. With a little prep work and time to let it simmer, the sauce makes itself! We like to start most of our ground meat meals with mirepoix, a combination of onions, carrots, and celery that provides a flavorful base for the sauce. Before you start cooking, make sure you have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go for the bolognese recipe. This is known as “mise en place,” a French term that means “putting in place.” Having everything ready before you start cooking will make the process much smoother.

Once you have your mise en place ready, it’s time to start cooking. Begin by adding your mirepoix to the pot along with some salt and sauté it until it’s soft and fragrant. This will take about 10 minutes.

Next turn your heat up to high, salt your ground meat and add it to the pot. We recommend using a mix of beef, pork and veal or turkey for the best flavor. If you cannot find ground veal or do not want to use it, ground turkey is the best substitute because of its light flavor. Once the meat is browned, add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Building Flavor with Umami-Rich Ingredients

Next is the seasoning stage. Add a large a palmful of dried oregano and black pepper to season the meat. Also add a bay leaf and freshly grated nutmeg for flavoring the sauce.

Now it’s time to add our first level of umami to the sauce. Umami is a savory taste that adds depth and richness to your dish. The secrets to this great bolognese are the umami ingredients added that are allowed to simmer and infuse into the sauce. We like to use Red Boat Thai fish sauce and dried/dehydrated porcini mushrooms for their umami-rich flavor as well as tomato paste. Add your porcini mushrooms to a small bowl and let reconstitute for about five minutes. In the meantime, add tomato paste to the meat and mix together. Check out how to best get tomato paste out of the can from one of our ‘Kitchen Tips’ post.

The Art of Simmering: Tender and Flavorful Sauce

Once your paste is incorporated, add white wine to deglaze the pan and remove any brown bits from the bottom. Next add milk to tenderize the meat. The milk will add a small layer of creaminess to the dish, but is not that noticeable. Add your canned and jarred tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer. We think that San Marzano tomatoes are worth using, and we like to use a large can of the whole ones and add them in by crushing them with our hands. This is a fun task to get kids involved with if they like sensory experiences!!! We also use a large jar of tomato purée/passata as a base to our sauce. Tip: rinse the cans and jars with water and throw the water back into the pot to get the most our of the tomato sauce.

Now let’s finalize the sauce by adding the last of the umami ingredients. Add the fish sauce and reconstituted chopped porcini mushrooms to the pot and cook for a few minutes. Stir the sauce occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. After two hours, start checking the sauce more frequently. The longer you let the sauce simmer, the more flavorful and tender the sauce will become. Around the third hour the sauce should be reduced by half and ready to go. The sauce can even simmer for up to four hours.

Beyond Pasta: Creative Ways to Use Our Homemade Bolognese Sauce Recipe

When your bolognese is done, you can serve it over your favorite pasta or polenta and use it as a base for other dishes. Some ideas for other dishes utilizing your homemade bolognese sauce could be:

1. Lasagna: Layer your Bolognese sauce between lasagna sheets, creamy béchamel, and gooey cheese for a hearty and crowd-pleasing lasagna. Top it off with more cheese and bake to perfection.
2. Baked Ziti: Create a comforting Baked Ziti by adding your Bolognese sauce to some par-cooked penne noodles, a little more tomato sauce, mozzarella and ricotta, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake it until the dish is bubbling and golden brown and serve with a side of green salad.
3. Bolognese Sandwich: Pile Bolognese sauce onto crusty bread and top with cheese for a gourmet Bolognese sandwich. Perfect for a quick and delicious lunch.

Freezing and Storing Bolognese for Future Meals

This homemade bolognese sauce recipe is also great for freezing in individual portions for easy weeknight meals. A favorite way of ours is to freeze multiple two portions in quart size bags flat on a cookie tray. We frequently use the frozen leftovers as a treat for grown-ups to eat on Friday nights after a long week and the kids are in bed. And occasionally we will make a lasagna out of the freezer bag contents of the sauce as well.

Homemade Bolognese Sauce Receipe: A Comforting Culinary Treasure

In conclusion, homemade bolognese sauce is a versatile and delicious addition to any home cook’s repertoire. With a little bit of prep work and time, you can make a pot of gold that will keep you satisfied for not only days, but months. So the next time you’re looking for a comforting meal, give bolognese a try—you won’t be disappointed!