Fireworks Tomato Butter Bolognese

Fireworks Tomato Butter Bolognese (Serves 6)

This time of year there is nothing I crave more than a thick, traditional, buttery Bolognese with pasta. There is nothing that I hate worse than the amount of time it takes to make a thick, traditional, buttery Bolognese. I concocted a masterpiece in the matter of minutes with only a few simple ingredients. It’s not overly heavy with cream or milk either. A few dashes of parmesan at the end is sufficient. And you can make this with either beef, pork, dark meat turkey or vegetarian altogether. I used ground pork most recently. There is a secret ingredient that I tried in this recipe that will blow your mind…It’s surprising because while it adds a zing of acidity, it gives a richness that usually takes hours to achieve. The ingredient is Worcestershire Sauce. A while back I had been researching ingredients for my steak butter recipe. I found that you can buy dehydrated Worcestershire Sauce. So I decided to try it for this recipe. I was out of the real sauce so I substituted the powder. It was amazing. A traditional Bolognese will have you cooking cream and red wine down on low for an hour or so. Substituting pasta water and butter for the heavy cream and the Worcestershire sauce for the red wine, you'll have a flavorful delicious cousin of the traditional sauce in a fraction of the time. You’ll want to serve with parmesan (if you can) crusty bread. By leaving out the red wine, you'll have more to drink alongside this meal.

Ingredients:

 

  •  Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons Fireworks Chipotle Tomato butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and medium dice
  • 3 celery ribs, with leaves if possible, large dice
  • 2 tsp garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 pound ground beef (preferably 20 percent fat), pork or dark meat turkey 
  • 12 – 16 ounces spaghetti, pappardelle or other long pasta
  • 1/2 cup tomato paste
  • 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce or dehydrated Worcestershire seasoning
  •  Grated Parmesan, for serving

 

 

PREPARATION

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, 3 minutes. Add beef and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.

Add pasta to the pot and cook according to package instructions until al dente.

Meanwhile, add tomato paste to skillet and cook, stirring, until darkened, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup pasta water, Worcestershire, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer pasta directly from the pot to the skillet. Increase heat to high and simmer vigorously, tossing, until sauce reduces and coats the pasta, about 2 minutes. Done in 20 minutes or less. Can’t beat it! Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with Parmesan.