Simple Bolognese

Ok, this is a simple recipe. And I know you must be thinking: who need a Bolognese recipe! The thing is, I devote this whole week to try the recipes in Giada Le Laurentis Everyday Italian Cookbook. And this is one of the recipes that people on the net raved about, so I must give it a try and see how it compares to my own Bolognese recipe.

Simple Bolognese

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground chuck beef
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chiffonade
8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Preparation:

In a 6 quart pot, add extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onions become very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute, stirring frequently and breaking up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1/2 hour. Finish bolognese with Pecorino Romano. Check for seasoning.
Serve hot.

Serves 4 very hungry adults.

Note: I think this is a simple basic Bolognese recipe. I still prefer my own version, with which prior marination is required. (Add also includes red wine and brown sugar) However, I like the idea of adding carrots and minced celery to make the sauce more hearty in this recipe.

So much tomato based meals this week, I should cook something tomatoless next week.... Something not Italian...