Description
This Bolognese Sauce (aka Sunday Sauce) is hearty, robust and full of depth and flavor! Make it in a slow cooker, on the stovetop or in an Instant pot. We lighten it up with ground turkey (optional) and add mushrooms for extra umami.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 1/4 pounds ground meat- turkey, beef, lamb, pork or a mix
- 1 large onion -diced
- 6–8 cloves garlic- rough chopped
- 8 ounces mushrooms- sliced
- 2 carrots- diced
- 2 Celery stalks – diced
- 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste!
- 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/4 cup red wine ( or chicken or beef broth)
- 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marsano (or use crushed or diced)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1Bay leaf
- Parmesan Rind (optional)
Garnish: Fresh basil ribbons or chopped parsley and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
Instructions
- In a very large dutch oven ( medium-high heat) or saute function of a slow cooker, saute the ground turkey and onion in the olive oil, for 7-9 minutes until lightly browned. If there is a lot of liquid, drain.
- Add the garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Continue sauteing and stirring cooking the veggies until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add all the spices and salt.
- Make a well in the pan and add tomato paste, saute it for 1-2 minutes, which will give the sauce depth. Mix it all together then add the wine, scraping up all the brown bits.
- Let simmer on medium heat until wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and their juice, breaking them up with the metal spatula. Stir in the soy sauce. Toss in the parmesan rind (optional) to add even more depth and a bay leaf.
- Place this in a slow cooker on its lowest setting for 6 hours (or medium heat for 3 hours). Adjust seasonings, add more salt to taste, discard parmesan rind and bay leaf.
- Alternately you can continue to simmer in the dutch oven on the stove, covered, for 1-2 hours, on lowest heat, adding chicken stock if necessary (if it gets too dry) or uncovering, and cooking off liquid, if it seems too liquidy. Taste, adjust salt to your liking.
- Serve over cooked pasta, quinoa or roasted spaghetti squash with grated parmesan, sprinkled with fresh basil or Italian parsley.
Notes
- TO MAKE IN AN INSTANT POT Follow steps 1-5 using the saute function. Then use the meat/stew setting for 35 minutes (or manual LOW pressure for 35 minutes) followed by a natural release for 15 minutes. Cook off the extra liquid, uncovered, on the saute function, stirring often.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 174
- Sugar: 5.9 g
- Sodium: 259.6 mg
- Fat: 7.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.9 g
- Fiber: 4.1 g
- Protein: 16.7 g
- Cholesterol: 48.9 mg