Pasta Bolognese is a dish I could make with my eyes closed. It’s a top-ten favorite in my own family and was a staple back when I worked as a personal chef, all those years ago. Recently, I made it for a beautiful postpartum friend who asked for the recipe — so I figured it was time to finally type it up and share it here, too.
This recipe began as a classic Bolognese, made with ground beef and pork, cooked in butter and simmered in milk. Over the years, though, I’ve adapted it to be more kosher-friendly for our family. I now use olive oil instead of butter, skip the pork entirely, and swap the milk for broth. And honestly? It’s just as delicious.
Pasta Bolognese
Equipment
- 2 large pots (I personally like to cook the bolognese in a dutch oven)
- wooden spoon
- colander
Ingredients
- big drizzle of olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3-4 stalks carrot, minced
- 3-4 stalks celery, minced
- 1 pound ground beef 85/15% fat is always my recommendation
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup broth of choice
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 pound pasta of choice
- grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
- handful of fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Drizzle olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until softened. Season with salt. Stir in ground beef, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, season with salt and pepper. Add garlic. Stir well.
- Stir in broth, bring to simmer, and cook, reducing until broth evaporates and only rendered fat remains. Stir in wine, bring to simmer, and cook, reducing until wine evaporates.
- Use your hands to squeeze tomatoes over the pot, drop tomatoes and their juices, along with extra juice in the can into your pot. Reduce heat to low so that sauce continues to simmer until liquid has evaporated. Season with salt to taste.
- Meanwhile, in a second pot, cook your pasta of choice, until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup cooking water. Add reserved cooking water to sauce as needed to adjust consistency. Marry the sauce with the now cooked pasta, stir in fresh parsley. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
I’m dedicating this recipe to Squay — our feisty, ravenous, orange chaos monster — who used to lick highchairs clean and faithfully assist with post-dinner cleanup, especially on pasta Bolognese nights. He passed away in October 2024, and my older son lovingly calls him “Ghost Cat.” May God rest his unique soul. I hope the hunting on the rainbow bridge is even better than it was earth-side. See you soon, buddy. 🧡