There is really no good reason to blog about making dinner. I mean, everyone has to make dinner. It’s one of the most common struggles moms and dads face: “What’s for dinner?” Part of the daily grind, it can get a person down if you aren’t planning ahead and somehow engaged in the whole endeavor. Honestly, there’s nothing special happening here.
But there is.
At least in my house there is.
It’s dinner. Good food made at home, in a new dish that functions beautifully. Each meal right now is something fun that we haven’t tried before, and each meal is an experiment in this notion of actually enjoying a cozy dark winter evening at home. It is new. I’ve chosen to let a spark of creativity fly in my kitchen a few times a week and, darn it, if blogging the experience allows my family to eat homemade meals, well then, that’s what’s gonna happen.
The side effect to the simple joy of eating good food is the prepping of that good food. I have always enjoyed baking, but cooking, not so much. This time around it feels different though. I’m enjoying the experience. I like chopping onions and rendering bacon in the dutch oven. I like the slow adding of ingredients to the pot, the melding of smells and flavors until the final dish is complete. I like tasting a particular ingredient in the recipe, something that I chopped up, that gives that added burst of interest to each bite. (In this dish, it’s the teeny tiny bite of fire from the red chili flakes.)
Thanks to my brother Andrew for sending along the recipe for One Pot Pasta Bolognese. It’s a keeper. As always, it will be posted on Needs More Butter as well.
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Serves: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes, plus more to taste
• 1.5 lb ground chuck
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups reduced sodium chicken stock (or 2 c chicken stock, 1 c wine)
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 pound tagliatelle or spaghetti
• ¼ cup milk
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
DIRECTIONS
1. In a dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until lightly crisped. Mix in the onion, celery, and garlic, and season liberally with salt and pepper. Mix in ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes, adding slightly more if you prefer more heat in your sauce. Cook together until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add in the ground chuck. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes or until browned all over. Once browned, stir in the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, and thyme.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Then, uncover, remove the thyme sprigs, stir the pasta in, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in the milk, parmesan cheese, and shredded basil, and adjust the seasonings to taste. Serve with additional basil, to garnish.