Poppa's Midweek Homemade Pasta Bolognese

Here's our family's favorite pasta sauce Bolognese recipe. Fast, easy, and full of flavor. Made from pork and beef mince, this pasta sauce will go with spaghetti or your fav pasta shape (this week, our kids like penne!).

Pasta sauce is life. It's also a key element of our midweek dinner rotation. We love this recipe because it achieves the homemade flavor you can't get at the shops — BOO pre-made sauce jars! — with ease that even a father can execute. (Yes, this is written by a DCF Daddyo).

The key ingredients in this pasta sauce are our Perth-famous grass-finished beef and pasture-raised pork mince. (You can also use 50/50 Mince, where we have mixed it for you!).

There's something so satisfying about making Bolognese from scratch. All you need is flavorful mince, a few herbs and tomatoes, and you'll be the hero of midweek dinner. Read on for the recipe and full ingredient list.

• Defrost the Mince. Dirty Clean Food delivers snap frozen meat products to preserve freshness.  We recommend leaving the mince in package overnight in your chiller for defrosting. Procrastinating Poppa Tip->  leaving frozen mince packs submerged in a bowl of water will also work.  
• Turn on Skillet Medium High.  Add 1T of olive oil (optional for flavoring). 
• Add mince. Once your skillet is hot, add both packs of mince (1 beef, 1 pork).  Add 1tsp of salt and fresh ground pepper.  
• Break up and stir briefly with your favorite wooden spoon. Try not to mix too much - contact with the pan is what develops the caramelization.
• While the mince is browning, finely dice your onion.  
• Add 1and stir in /2C of red wine and let cook for 1-2 minutes 
• Add chopped onion and mix.
• While onion is starting to cook, dice your carrot and mix the diced carrot into the skillet. 
• While carrots are cooking, open two cans of whole peeled tomatoes.  We use the Analisa brand as an affordable option with no additives. Many DCF customers recommend Mutti. 
• Add tomatoes, Garlic & Herbs. Add the tomatoes, finely diced garlic and herbs to the skillet.  Stir in them with your wooden spoon.  Your herbs should include oregano, 1 bay leaf and basil.  Optional (to taste): we usually add another small pinch of salt and a couple twists of freshly ground pepper at this point, too. 
• Turn heat down to Medium Low with an aim of maintaining a light simmer.
• At this point we usually fill one used tomato can halfway with water, swirl it around to get the leftover tomato goodness mixed in the water, then take that and pour it into the other can, swirl it around again, and add to the sauce.  
• Continue to stir occasionally to prevent food from sticking / overcooking at the bottom of the skillet. 
• Start boiling water for your pasta. 
• We find that if you wait until now to start heating the water for your pasta, the time it takes to cook the pasta will allow for about enough time for cooking your sauce to generate most (but not all) of the flavor you would get had you cooked it slowly for an hour. This is the midweek dinner version of this recipe after all!
• Add salt to the pasta water. Somehow, this matters. 
• After cooking the pasta, strain over sink.  Add the tablespoon of butter and 1tsp of salt to the bowl or pot where you will hold your pasta. 
• When you add the hot pasta it will melt the butter, so mix before your serve so that buttery goodness is evenly distributed. 
• Place pasta in your serving bowl and add sauce to the top.  Add freshly ground pepper and parmesan cheese to taste for final seasoning and enjoy!

Cooking Instructions

• Cook on 220C for 20 minutes; 
• Reduce heat to 180C and cook for another 45 - 60 minutes, or until done. 
• Note: Cook time varies by bird, size, oven, and starting temperature. There can be a noticeable difference in cook time between a 1.7kg bird and a 1.9kg bird.  Done is determined by internal  temperature, not time.
• Recommended: Check temp after 40 minutes at 180C (65 minutes total cook time) using a meat thermometer to gage your progress... don't turn the oven off until you are sure you're done!
• Continue to bake at 180C, checking periodically until internal temp reaches target.   
• Recommended done temp is 165F / 74C. 
• We cannot recommend a lower done temperature than 74C, but we have heard that the temperature may rise by two degrees C while resting.  
• Check Temp in the deepest part of the thigh without touching the bone and the thickest part of the breast.  
• Let rest for ten minutes using a loose al foil tent while you arrange the veggies in a serving bowl- don't seal the alfoil tight, as this will steam the bird, softening the skin and potentially overcooking.
• Carve the bird and serve with veggies and a slice of chicken bread per eater. Relax and enjoy!
• Pro Tip - Save all of your unserved chicken including bones, wings, neck, separately shedding any remaining meat.  You can use the bits and bones for making stock, and then add the shredded chicken to the stock (along with veggies) for chicken noodle soup later in the week.