Description
An oh-so-comforting tomato sauce and slow-cooked pork bolognese is just what I’ve been feeling this past week! Serve up with cooked spaghetti topped with a smattering of parmesan and torn basil leaves, or use as a base for homemade lasagne.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tbsp olive oil + more if needed
- 500g pork mince
- 2 brown onions, sliced
- 80g pancetta, cut into a small dice.
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 carrot
- 1 jar passata
- ½ c chicken stock
- ½ c white wine
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 20g black garlic
- 1 bay leaves
- ½ tsp oregano
- 2 sprigs thyme
- sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to season
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150°c.
- Combine the olive oil and pork mince in a cast iron Dutch oven and lightly brown. Make sure to break up the cooked mince and not let it stick together in chunks. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Saute the onion in the pot over medium-low heat. Cook on the stove top for a couple of minutes until it starts to soften (about 5 minutes). Add the pancetta. Stir through and continue sauteing on low heat for a few more minutes to cook off the pancetta and release the flavors. Add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute and stir through to combine. Remove the onion mix from the pot and set aside.
- Return the cooked mince. Add the diced carrot and celery. Give it a quick mix through and gently saute for a minute or two.
- Add the chicken broth, white wine, tomato passata, tomato paste, black garlic, bay leaf, and thyme. Give a good stir to release any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pot from cooking the pork mince. Bring the tomato sauce to a simmer point over medium heat on top of the stove stirring occasionally, then pop in the oven (lid on) for 2.5 hours.
- Remove from oven and season with a pinch of salt flakes and a good grind of black pepper.
- Serve your pork bolognese sauce with your favorite pasta cooked to package instructions or al dente.
Notes
- Whenever you slow cook this type of Dutch oven recipe, I always recommend cooking this and then eating it the next day and this pasta sauce is no different.
- Be sure to scrape down the sides of the pot and any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. This all contributes to adding a rich flavor. When you are cooking the pasta, don’t throw away all that beautiful pasta water. Reserve a little for the sauce – all added flavor!
- If you have fussy eaters and want to smuggle the vegies in, feel free to grate them as opposed to dice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 564
- Sugar: 9.5 g
- Sodium: 983.6 mg
- Fat: 38.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Protein: 27.6 g
- Cholesterol: 104.1 mg