Since my family is Italian, I grew up eating really good Bolognese. It was my mother’s specialty, which you can see in my previous Bolognese recipe. I love a classic bolognese, but sometimes I like to switch it up and add some spices. This is my go to recipe to spice up the classic bolognese and make it a little more interesting!

Ingredients

  1. 1 onion minced
  2. 1 carrot minced
  3. 1 celery stalk minced
  4. 1 red bell pepper minced
  5. 1 jalapenos minced
  6. 1 head of garlic minced
  7. 2 Tb dried basil
  8. 1 lb ground pork
  9. 1 lb ground beef
  10. 1 container, or ½ cup Italian Hot pepper sauce, I get mine from trader joes trader joes, or can substitute for chipotle paste from canned chipotle peppers. 
  11. Two 1 lb can of italian whole tomatoes (or 1.5 cans of 1 lb 12 oz cans)
  12. S/P
  13. Whole bunch of parsley 
  14. Olive oil
  15. Pasta of choice, zoodles, or banza

Instructions:

  1. Put a medium size pot over medium heat with olive oil. Saute your onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and jalapeños until translucent. Salt 1 tsp of salt as you go. 
  2. Add your minced garlic and saute 2 minutes.
  3. Add your dried basil and saute another 2 minutes.
  4. In a separate saute pan saute your beef and pork until cooked through. Salt 1 tsp for each meat as you cook. Drain off the fat.
  5. Add your drained meat to your pot.
  6. Open your canned tomatoes and crush them into smaller pieces with your hands, add them and the liquid to the pot. Add your Italian hot pepper sauce. 
  7. Also add your whole cup of parsley, stems and all! This adds flavor, you will pull the parsley out at the end.
  8. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, add around 2 tsp of salt and mix. Once it is bubbling, let the bolognese simmer for 1 hour minimum! The longer it simmers the more flavor it develops!
  9. After an hour, taste and season if necessary, discard the parsley and enjoy!
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