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Bolognese is a classic Italian sauce that’s rich and meaty and perfect to warm you up on a cold night. Here, we’re lightening up the traditional bolognese with white wine, summer tomatoes, and fresh basil. Cutting up the carrots, garlic, and shallot can be time-consuming, so we speed it up for a weeknight meal by chopping the veggies in a food processor. This dish is elevated enough to serve for guests but easy enough to cook for a weeknight dinner with the kids.
A trick to delicious pasta sauce is adding in some pasta water to the sauce when you’re cooking it. The starches in the pasta water act as a thickener and binder in the sauce to help it cling to the pasta. We used mezzi rigatoni in this recipe because of the size (about half the size of regular rigatoni) and shape (big openings to trap the sauce), but feel free to use your favorite pasta. You’ll want to use a thicker noodle to stand up to the chunky bolognese.
Summer Bolognese
Our Summer Bolognese is a crowd-pleasing, lightened up version of traditional bolognese with a rainbow of tomatoes and fresh basil.
ingredients
12 oz mezzi rigatoni, or preferred pasta
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely diced
2 large or 3 small carrots, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
salt
pepper
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 c dry white wine, like sauvignon blanc
12 oz rainbow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
handful of fresh basil, torn, plus more for garnish
3 Tbsp parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus more for topping
method
Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp salt and then add pasta. Cook according to package instructions. Reserve 3/4 c of pasta water and drain.
Step 2
In the bowl of a food processor, add the carrots, shallot, and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can finely chop the vegetables by hand.
Step 3
In a large pan, melt butter then add shallot, carrots, and garlic. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Cook until veggies soften, about 8 mins.
step 4
Move veggies to the side of the pan, and add ground beef. Season beef with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Gently break up beef and cook until browned, about 10 mins.
Step 5
Add the tomato paste and oregano. Stir until combined and cook for 1 min. Add the white wine and simmer for 2 mins. Add 1/2 c of pasta water, tomatoes, and basil. Simmer until tomatoes begin to burst, about 6 – 8 mins.
Step 6
Add cooked pasta to the sauce, then top with cheese. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper. If sauce thickens, add a bit more pasta water. Serve topped with more parmesan cheese and basil.
serving tips
Serve in pasta bowls topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. We recommend the Mircoplane Coarse Grater for perfectly grated cheese. Leftovers can be stored in a covered dish in the fridge for a couple days. This pasta dish reheats well and makes for delicious leftovers.
Recipe adapted from The Food Network.
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Summer Bolognese
Equipment
- 1 food processor optional
Ingredients
- 12 oz mezzi rigatoni or preferred pasta
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 2 large or 3 small carrots finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- salt
- pepper
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 c dry white wine like sauvignon blanc
- 12 oz rainbow cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- handful of fresh basil torn, plus more for garnish
- 3 Tbsp parmesan cheese freshly grated, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp salt and then add pasta. Cook according to package instructions. Reserve 3/4 c of pasta water and drain.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the carrots, shallot, and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can finely chop the vegetables by hand.
- In a large pan, melt butter then add shallot, carrots, and garlic. Season with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Cook until veggies soften, about 8 mins.
- Move veggies to the side of the pan, and add ground beef. Season beef with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Gently break up beef and cook until browned, about 10 mins.
- Add the tomato paste and oregano. Stir until combined and cook for 1 min. Add the white wine and simmer for 2 mins. Add 1/2 c of pasta water, tomatoes, and basil. Simmer until tomatoes begin to burst, about 6 – 8 mins.
- Add cooked pasta to the sauce, then top with cheese. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper. If sauce thickens, add a bit more pasta water. Serve topped with more parmesan cheese and basil.
