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Haines, Alaska
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Spice Mama's Bolognese
Bolognese with Ultima Frontiera
I started making Bolognese before I could reach the top of the counter. I took over the kitchen at ten , years old with my younger brother, inspired by my father's lack of cooking passion (and talent). He fancied himself a feminist and since both he and my mother were school teachers, he took on his share of the household duties. My mother (and our other four siblings) were very happy to have two interested and eager chefs in training to take over the week night meals. She was very regimented in her meal planning. Wednesday was spaghetti night and she taught us how to make this simple, and tasty bolognese. I've added in a couple little twists over the years, and of course the Ultima Frontiera spice blend. But for the most part, it's very much like the one my brother and I made every Wednesday night for dinner until we went off to college.
Please review the whole recipe before you begin to make sure you have what you need to make this.
This recipe serves 6-8.
It takes about ten minutes to prepare and it simmers for several hours.
Get out a large stock pot.
Ingredients (unless otherwise specified I use organic ingredients where at all possible).
3 tbs Ultima Frontiera
1 pound of 95% lean ground beef (I prefer organic grass fed).
2 tbs olive oil
1 large yellow onion
1 large green pepper
5 cloves of garlic
2 - 28 ounce box or can of crushed tomatoes
1 - 28 ounce box or can of tomato sauce
1 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 - 1 tsp salt (depends on if the tomatoes are salted
Directions
1. Add the olive oil into the stock pot over medium heat.
2. Add in 1 tablespoon of Ultima Frontiera and cook for a minute or two (this releases more flavor).
3. Dice into 1/2 inch pieces both the onion and the green pepper. Finely chop the garlic cloves and put aside.
4. Bring the heat down to medium low and add in the onion first for several minutes then add in the green pepper - cook for 3 - 5 minutes stirring to keep from browning.
5. Add in the ground beef - bring the heat up to medium. Brown the ground beef, stirring frequently to break up the meat. We prefer extra lean ground beef to keep all the rich flavor of the browning ground beef in the bolognese - higher fat content ground beef does require draining the excess fat.
6. After about five minutes, add in the finely chopped garlic.
7. Add in one more tablespoon of the Ultima Frontiera spice blend.
8. Mix well.
9. Add in the canned or boxed tomatoes, stir well.
10. Add in the red wine, brown sugar, and fish sauce, stir well.
11. Taste the sauce and salt to taste - add in 1/4 teaspoon at a time as you can always add more salt but it's hard to take out salt.
12. Bring the heat down to medium low to low (depends on your stove top). You want the sauce to simmer - just below the boiling point for several hours. Keep an eye on the sauce to make sure it's not too hot as you are just going for a low simmer. Stir every 15 to 30 minutes.
13. Just before serving, add in the last tablespoon of the Ultima Frontiera spice blend and stir well.
Serving Suggestions
1. Pasta - a thick pasta goes well with this sauce - I like Buccatini. (I purchase mine on Amazon as it's difficult to find in the grocery stores in AK and this is an Alaska Spice Shop Affiliate Link)
2. Parmesan - When you plate the sauce over the pasta, put fresh parm on top.
3. Ultima Frontiera Bread Sticks - scroll down the page to see this recipe.
Ultima Frontiera
This is the Alaska Spice Shop's homage to everything Italian. Spice Mama went to cooking school in Parma, Italy so this blend has some credentials!