Ground beef, pancetta, and finely chopped vegetables are married in a robust and flavor bursting bolognese sauce that doesn't require an all day simmer.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword bolognese, bolognese pasta, pasta with meat sauce
Set a large pot of salted water to boil. You won't need it until the sauce is almost near finished. Prior to the 'heavy cream' step in the instructions below, add fresh pasta to the rapid boiling water and cook according to package instructions, typically about 3 to 4 minutes.
In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are translucent.
Add chopped pancetta and cook for two minutes. Add ground beef to the pan, using a wooden spoon or spatula to break apart into very small pieces. Cook until almost all of the pink is removed from the ground beef, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Pour red wine over pan ingredients. Stir to incorporate, scraping the bottom of the pan. Allow wine to reduce slightly, cooking about 1 minute before adding pomodoro sauce.
Stir well to incorporate pomodoro sauce and tomato paste. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 3 minutes to reduce.
Add heavy cream, stirring well to incorporate. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes before adding pasta.
Drain pasta well, do not rinse with water. Add pasta to sauce and stir or sauté until noodles are well coated with sauce. Optional: Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.
Notes
Learn how to make homemade pasta - tagliatelle is one of my favorite shapes! Or you can buy fresh pasta in the cold section of your grocery store.
If using boxed pasta instead of fresh pasta, begin cooking the pasta earlier as it will take more time.
Get the Hand-Crushed Pomodoro Sauce here. If you're not in the mood to make your own, a plain jar of marinara sauce would make a great substitution. The Rao's brand is my favorite.