PASTA BOLOGNESE

Large Round Serving DishThis is one of our favourite winter recipes. Ultra tasty and comforting for your winter evenings.

For this recipe, we really invite you to value good products. Take the time and pleasure to go to your butcher to buy quality meat. For the pasta, choose pasta with good gluten. We recommend the Al Dente brand of pasta, which is much tastier and more nutritious than the industrial brands.

There is no secret in cooking: a great dish, especially when it is simple, comes from the quality of the ingredients. Fresh meat that tastes good, good olive oil, excellent parmesan. It's your ingredients that make all the difference.

A very generous and tasty recipe, to share with a large table. We advise you to keep this proportion of ingredients to freeze part of the bolognese. As it is a recipe that cooks for a while, take advantage of it to make a large quantity to enjoy all winter long!

Discover Caroline Petit's Pasta Bolognese.

The ingredients you need for 6 people:

• 1.5 kg of minced meat. We advise you to mix 3 different meats: 500g beef, 500g lamb and 500g pork. If you don't like one of them, you can simply replace it with one you like.
• 2 packets of Al Dente pasta (it's the best!)
• 7 slices of pancetta
• 1 onion
• 7 cloves of garlic
• A good parmesan cheese
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 or 3 carrots
• 1 or 2 stalks of celery
• 1 bunch of rocket salad
• 4 bird peppers for the more adventurous
• Olive oil
• A small glass of vodka (or two if you decide to have a shot while cooking)

The essentials of this recipe:

• A Large Round Serving Dish for your presentation
• Soup Plates for your tasting

Get cooking! 

Start by preparing the vegetables: heat a little olive oil in a pan. Chop the garlic and onion. Leave to cook over a low heat until the mixture becomes translucent. In the meantime, peel the carrots and cut them into very small cubes. Pour them into the pan. Then cut the celery, removing the top part with the leaves. Cut the stalks into small cubes. Pour them into the pan. Cover with a little olive oil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Prepare the pancetta like bacon: sear the slices of pancetta in a hot pan. You should hear a sizzling sound when you put the pancetta slices in the pan. If not, wait a few minutes until the pan is hot. Sear each slice on both sides so that they become crispy. Set aside for later.

Start preparing the bolognese: add the meat with the carrots and celery. Separate the meat blocks as you cook so that you have a homogeneous mixture. After 10 minutes of cooking, add the tomato paste and the whole peeled tomatoes. Add a little water as you cook to keep the mixture juicy. Add salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes.

Caroline's twist: add the vodka. The alcohol will evaporate and add flavour to the mixture. Cut the crust off the parmesan and place it in the centre of the pan. The crust will melt to give a very creamy mixture. Remove the crust just before serving.

For the more adventurous, prepare the spicy oil: chop 4 bird peppers very finely and add them with the seeds to a little olive oil. Remember to wash your hands well after touching the chillies so that you don't risk burning yourself by touching your face. 

Start cooking the pasta: heat a large volume of salted water in a pan. When the water boils, add the pasta. Let it cook until it is al dente. It will finish cooking in the bolognese.

Bolognese needs to simmer for a long time (1 to 2 hours). When it turns brown, it is a good sign! Finish cooking it on a high heat. It only takes a few minutes for it to burn a little underneath. This will add flavour and texture to the mixture. Then add a glass of milk to the bolognese to make it even creamier.

Finally, drain the pasta without straining it and add it to the pan containing the bolognese. Fry it. The pasta will completely soak up the bolognese as it finishes cooking.

Presentation: Present the pasta in our Large Round Serving Dish. Then serve generously on our Soup Plates. Add a few pieces of pancetta. Place a handful of rocket on top. Grate in the Parmesan and add the olive oil, spiced or not.

You're in for a treat!