Lauren’s Bolognese Sauce

Living in Hoboken, we had the BEST Italian restaurants. When I came across an amazing bolognese, I would analyze it. Did the meat seemed to be browned before or in the sauce? Was it a wet sauce or more meaty? What was the vegetable to meat ratio? I came up with this recipe after years of fine tuning - because we can all use one more recipe to put on top of noodles!

Ingredients

• 2 28 oz. cans of tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes or a combo
• 1 lb ground beef or meatloaf mix (if using ground beef, 80/20 is best)
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 vidalia onion, diced
• Garlic to taste, chopped
• Olive oil
• Red wine
• Bay leaf
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Take the meat out of the fridge and allow to come to room temp.
• Add a generous amount of olive oil to a heavy bottomed pan.
• Heat to medium and saute the onion until translucent.
• Add carrots and celery and saute until soft.
• Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add a generous helping of red wine and crank up the heat.
• Once the wine is bubbling, lower the heat back to medium.
• Add both cans of tomatoes.
• With your hands, break up the meat and add into the sauce.
• Stir everything, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
• Once bubbling, lower to a summer and add bay leaf.
• Cook for at least 30 mins, stirring occasionally, taste for seasoning.
• Before serving, remove bay leaf and add fresh parmesan.
• Serve over noodles or polenta.