One-pot Weeknight Pasta Bolognese

December 2024

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

I recently saw this recipe on the ATK TV show. I remembered making a Bolognese several years ago, though long enough ago that I don't recall many details. I am happy to try new recipes, especially if they are promoted as being easy weeknight recipes. 

Ground beef (90% lean, close enough to the recipe's 93% lean) was mixed with a solution of baking soda and pepper in water which helps to tenderize the beef. Pancetta (4 ounces, the size of the package I could purchase, though the recipe specified 6 ounces) was pulsed in food processor until finally chopped. Coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and celery were added to the pancetta and pulsed until they were finely chopped and the mixture had a paste-like consistency. This mixture was cooked in a mixture of butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven until the liquid evaporated. It continued to cook until a very dark fond formed in the bottom of the pot. Tomato paste was added and cooked until it became rust colored. The beef mixture was added and cooked until no longer pink, breaking the beef into small pieces with a spatula. Dry red wine was added and cooked until the wine had evaporated and the sauce had thickened. Beef broth, water, and grated Parmesan cheese were stirred in, the pot was covered, and cooked over low heat for about 20 minutes. One pound of pappardelle pasta was added and cooked until tender. The sauce was a little thin so it was cooked with the lid off. Total time was 1 hour 45 minutes.

We enjoyed this dish and we had for four meals. It is a very beefy combination of pasta, which cooked in the sauce, and finely textured, tender meat. It was better leftover, partly because the strips of pasta were shorter after being dished up from the container where the pasta had been stored. Whether or not you consider this suitable for a weeknight depends on your weeknight schedule. I'm retired yet it seemed to me more suitable for a weekend effort, though producing plentiful, easily reheated, leftovers.

It was only when writing this post that I went back and read my notes from the other time I made a Bolognese some seven years ago. Only then did I see that this recipe is essentially the same as the Cook's Illustrated recipe I had used previously. It has been updated to use just one pot but the ingredients and preparation are almost the same.