Spaghetti Bolognese

Today I was craving a big bowl of pasta. I decided to give in to this craving and come up with a bolognese recipe. I don’t super love spaghetti, but I saw someone eating a thick bigoli pasta recently and wanted to give it a try…

…and then my grocery store didn’t have any! I decided to try this perciatelli, otherwise known at bugatini, which is thick, hollow spaghetti. I love this pasta because it feels lighter that traditional spaghetti and it gets sauce all trapped in the inside – yum!

The finished product. I tried to fancy plate the pasta – it did not work, but it was still tasty! I also included below my broccoli recipe.

This recipe serves 4-6. We had 4 servings and had plenty enough for second helpings.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 29 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup dry wine wine, such as Pinot Grigio
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 tbsp dried or fresh chopped basil
• 1 tsp dried or fresh chopped parsley
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

For the pasta:

• 1 pound thick spaghetti, such as bigoli or bucatini
• 1 tbsp salt

For the (optional) broccoli side:

• 1 broccoli crown
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions

Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery. Heat the olive oil in a large shallow pan. Once the oil shimmers, add the chopped vegetables. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the minced garlic. Continue to saute until the garlic is fragrant and the onions semi-translucent.

I like my sauce a little chunky, so I have fairly large veggies. Mince finer if you like a smoother sauce.

Add the ground beef to the sauteing vegetables. Break up the beef wooden spoon as it browns. Allow the beef to brown for about 5 minutes.

Once the beef is broken up and browned, add the seasonings, tomato sauce, and wine, and half of the Parmesan cheese. Allow to come to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for one hour.

To cook the pasta, bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta. Cook for 7-9 minutes, or until al dente. You want the pasta cooked just under your desired tenderness so you can finish the pasta in the sauce.

Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the sauce and allow to cook together for about 2 minutes at a low simmer, or until your pasta reaches your desired done-ness. Add pasta water as needed to thin out your sauce (you do not have to use it all).

You might think finishing the pasta in the sauce is optional. You might be inclined to just dollop the sauce on top of dry pasta in a bowl like restaurants do – DON’ T DO IT! This is the biggest taste changing step!

Serve sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan.

For a healthy side dish, this pairs well with garlic butter broccoli. Cut the broccoli crown into florets, and cook the broccoli in boiling water for 5-7 minutes. Season with garlic, butter, salt, and pepper to taste.

Cajun Chicken Jambalaya

My family doesn’t eat a lot of pork or seafood, so I wanted to recreate my favorite jambalaya without either. This jambalaya is simple to put together, but spicy and packed with flavor! You can absolutely add sausage, shrimp, or other meats to this (I’ll post a variation another time), but I like the simplicity of this one for a weeknight meal.

My finished bowl of jambalaya. It came out a little less browned than some other recipes, but still delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup long grain rice
• Seasoning mixture:
  • 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, such as Slap Ya Mama
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, omit for less spicy
  • 1/2 tsp paprika, or 1 tsp if omitting cayenne

Spice mixture uselessly not mixed together 😉

Heat a large cast iron or stainless steel pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Once the oil shimmers, add the celery, onion, and bell pepper. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onion is slightly translucent.

Rub the seasoning mixture into the chicken. Add the chicken and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until the chicken is browned and there is a good fond on the bottom of the pan.

Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth. Add the rice and allow to come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. No peaking!

Remove from heat and uncover. Stir, then allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.