I made Ina Garten's easy weeknight Bolognese pasta, and the delicious dish only took 30 minutes

Business Insider

2 days ago

Ina Garten has a quick Bolognese pasta that she says is perfect for busy weeknights.
The dish includes ground sirloin, orecchiette pasta, dry red wine, and fresh basil leaves.
Garten's Bolognese only took 30 minutes and was packed with so much delicious flavor.
Ina Garten has always been my go-to when it comes to pasta. I've tried so many of her recipes that I've even ranked them.
One of my favorites is her weeknight Bolognese, which is super quick and can be easily adapted with whatever's in your pantry and fridge.
The rich and comforting dish was exactly what I needed after a long day. Better yet? I whipped it up in just 30 minutes.
Garten's weeknight Bolognese is made with ground sirloin, orecchiette, and dry red wine.
To make Garten's weeknight Bolognese for 4-5, you'll need:
1 pound of dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells
1 pound of lean ground sirloin
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 ¼ cups of dry red wine, divided
¼ cup of heavy cream
¼ cup of chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
When it comes to the canned tomatoes, it should be noted that Garten strongly recommends using the San Marzano variety. The "Barefoot Contessa" star is not a fan of plain canned tomatoes.
But Garten does allow for other adjustments. The point, after all, is for this recipe to be pantry-friendly.
You can substitute the sirloin for any ground meat or chopped mushrooms. Garten says it's also fine to "use any dried pasta that you like" for this dish, and that it's OK to skip the cream and basil if you don't have any on hand.
Before I started making the Bolognese sauce, I just needed to do a little prep.
Then, I began making the Bolognese sauce.
I heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and added my meat to the pan.
I used a wooden spoon to crumble the meat, stirring it occasionally. Garten's recipe recommends cooking the meat for five to seven minutes, until it's no longer pink.
After the meat had fully browned, I added my seasonings.
It was time for some wine!
After letting the seasoned meat cook for one minute, I poured 1 cup of red wine into the skillet.
Garten's recipe specifies using a dry red wine. A quick Google search showed that I could pick a cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, or merlot — I went with a pinot.
After pouring the wine, I used my wooden spoon to stir everything together.
Then, I added my San Marzano tomatoes and tomato paste.
I couldn't find crushed San Marzano tomatoes at my local supermarket, so I had to get peeled ones instead. I ran the tomatoes through a food processor before I threw them into the pan, but you could easily use your hands.
After adding the tomato paste, I seasoned everything with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I gave everything a good stir, then brought my sauce to a boil.
Once it began to bubble, I lowered the heat and allowed the pan to simmer for 10 minutes while I got a separate pot of water going for my pasta. (Don't forget to add salt!)
As the noodles cooked, I put the finishing touches on my sauce.
I let my sauce simmer for another 10 minutes while I waited for my pasta to turn al dente.
The sauce smelled delicious and had turned into a comforting deep-red color.
After 10 minutes, the pasta was ready.
I used a slotted spoon to transfer the shells to my sauce.
I added another ¼ cup of the red wine and a few spoonfuls of my pasta water.
After another minute of cooking, the pasta was ready. It looked glorious — and tasted even better.
Bolognese is my favorite type of pasta, so I had some pretty high hopes going into this — and Garten delivered.
The "Barefoot Contessa" star has a knack for giving classic recipes a new twist, and her weeknight Bolognese is no exception. The shells are the perfect vehicle for this dish, catching all of the flavorful sauce so you can have some in every bite.
The nutmeg in the Bolognese nicely balances the kick from the red pepper flakes, and the freshly grated Parmesan cheese I added on top melted beautifully into the warm sauce.
My family, who helped me test the recipe, only had rave reviews.
"It's a very meaty, very hearty pasta," my dad said. "Perfect."
"I really enjoy how the pasta holds onto the sauce," my sister added. "With every spoonful, you get a good amount of meat and a good amount of pasta."