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Pasta Bolognese

30 Dec

There are a few “classic” meals that as a home cook, I still haven’t made. I’ve never made hamburgers, wings, anything with turkey, any sort of pie, or jambalaya.

Yes. Jambalaya is a classic meal in my mind.

These dishes and desserts are on my food to-do-list, but on the top of that carefully crafted list is Pasta Bolognese – the all elusive and sexy meat sauce. HmmmHmmm…

While it is a sauce I adore, there is unfortunately just one type of bolognese you can never beat – your boyfriend’s mothers. To be fair, it is pretty awesome, but as Ryan so nicely put it – Even if I spend 3 days slaving over my meat sauce, it will never be as good as his moms!

Who wants that kind of pressure?!?! Obviously, I do. And obviously my meat sauce was awesome, and got devoured.

But his mother’s was better.

Pasta Bolognese

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground sirloin
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp oregano
1/4-1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, (until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown).
Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute.
Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 25 minutes.
Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
When serving, add the sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan to the pasta and toss well.

Note: You can simmer for more or less time, depending on how much time you have. Original recipe calls for simmering for 10 minutes at step 4 and 5, but I found the flavors weren’t quite ready.

Recipe slightly adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Enjoy the recipe! And please healthy it up by omitting the cream (doctor’s orders).

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Categories Meals, Pasta, Recipes
Author Jennie

Creamy Avocado Pasta

29 Jan

I have discovered a new go-to meal that I will be making probably once a week. To be honest, I made it twice last week – and I ate it for dinner and lunch! I found this recipe on one of my new favorite blogs, eatswellwithothers - It’s written by Joanne, a fellow medical student in NYC and she makes great vegetarian meals and tasty desserts.

I saw this creamy avocado pasta on her blog and I was excited by how easy it was to put together.
Avocado, basil, lemon juice, olive oil and parmesan cheese – just a few simple ingredients needed for this quick meal. But an avocado pasta sauce? It totally seemed weird.

Fast forward to an empty plate and avocado all over my face – it’s incredible. This pasta is light, tasty and satisfying. It takes no time at all to whip this dinner up and I know I’ll be making it fairly often.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Ingredients:

6 oz (2 servings) whole wheat pasta
1 medium ripe avocado, pitted
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 lemon, juiced and zest for garnish
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add in pasta and cook until al dente.
In a food processor or with a hand blender, process the avocado, basil, lemon juice, garlic, cheese and olive oil until smooth.
Pour avocado sauce over pasta, and add some pasta water if necessary to make it looser.
Garnish with lemon zest, basil, Parmesan and black pepper.

Adapted from joanneeatwellwithothers originally from Oh She Glows

Hope you enjoy this healthy pasta dish!

- Jennie