Name: easy bolognese sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 2 medium onions cut into small dice; 1 large carrot cut into small dice; 2 stalks celery cut into small dice; 2 rashers streaky bacon cut into small dice; 500g beef mince (ground) (1 pound); 500g pork mince (ground) (1 pound); 6 fat cloves garlic minced; 1 cup red wine; 800g diced tomatoes (2 x 14 ounce tins); 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilli flakes and fennel seeds; 4 tablespoons basil pesto - see below; 1 bunch basil; 2 cloves garlic; 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese; 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; freshly ground black pepper

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Easy bolognese sauce is delicious and comforting. I mean who doesn’t like spag bol as it’s often referred to here in Australia. Bolognese sauce is made a zillion different ways but what we are after is a delicious mix of beef, pork and bacon married with tomatoes, the holy trinity of onion, carrot and celery along with garlic. Add tomatoes, tomato paste , chilli and fennel seeds along with red wine and you’re headed to delicious. Season with salt and pepper and then throw in the secret ingredients……basil, olive oil, garlic and parmesan. Yum!

Secret ingredients….

Adding basil, olive oil, garlic and parmesan to your bolognese sauce completely adds a real lift to the sauce. Basil and tomatoes are just about the perfect marriage. The basil brings a real freshness to the sauce and makes it stand out. We love it!

easy bolognese sauce cooked and adding fresh basil, garlic, olive oil and parmesan at the finish completely lifts the dish — adding basil, garlic, parmesan and olive oil to the sauce

Quick and easy

The best thing about this bolognese sauce is that it’s quick and easy and freezes like a dream for quick mid week meals.

easyd bolognese sauce adding minced garlic in a garlic crusher to sauteed onion, carrot, celery and bacon — adding garlic

easy bolognese sauce sauteeing of vegetables till softened — sauteing vegetables

esasy bolognese sauce dicing bacon rashers on a woodfen chopping board — dicing bacon

easy bolognese sauce diced onion, carrot and celery on a wooden chopping board — diced onion, carrot and celery

Pork, beef mince (ground) and bacon

The marriage of pork which adds sweetness and beef mince along with bacon in a bolognese sauce is what gives it the depth of flavor. The bacon, well we all know what bacon does, it’s like manna from heaven.

easy bolognese sauce adding red wine to ground meat and vegetables — pouring red wine

easy bolognese sauce adding tomaotoes and tomato paste to mince meat and vegetables — adding tomotoes and tomato paste

easy bolognese sauce adding poprk and beef mince to sauteed vegetables — pork and beef added to sauteed vegetables

Freezes like a dream

Bolognese sauce freezes extremely well. Perfect for those nights when you just don’t want to crank up the stove.

Check out some more winning pasta recipes

smoked salmon and lemon pasta in black bowl — smoked salmon and lemon pasta

Puttanesca Pasta Sauce - Spicy — puttanesca pasta

Prawn, pesto and chargrilled capsicum pasta — prawn, pesto and chargrilled capsicum pasta

What’s your secret ingredient for bolognese sauce? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.

8 serves