Earth Eats: Real Food, Green Living

Pasta Bolognese Dinner For Two

Open a bottle of wine, turn on the Three Tenors, and enjoy a romantic evening with this tasty meal for two.

Pasta Bolognese

Photo: fritish (flickr)

A wide noodle makes this dish hearty and is a great compliment to the size of the crumbled sausage.

There is nothing better than a warm pasta dish to heat up a chilly winter’s evening.

Salsicca Bolognese is a spicy sausage that pairs well with red sauce and red wine. A wide noodle makes this dish hearty and is a great compliment to the size of the crumbled sausage. I enjoy making this dish as much as I enjoy eating it!

So, open a bottle and turn on some Three Tenors for your honey.

Pasta Bolognese

Serves two (or a small appetizer for four)

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 Salsicca Bolognese, about a half pound
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/4 cup dry vermouth (or red wine)
  • 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, pureed (I find that pureeing whole peeled tomatoes has a better flavor than the already pureed tomatoes from a can)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • grated Parmesan
  • 9 oz fresh papardelle, or similar wide noodle (I used black pepper flavor for extra spice)

Method:

  1. Sweat onions in high sided saute pan with olive oil, until translucent.
  2. Split casings of sausage and add crumbled meat to pan, cook until carmelized and brown.
  3. Add red pepper flakes and oregano to pan.
  4. Deglaze pan with vermouth. Deglazing is the process of adding a liquid to a pan to release all the brown, crusty, delicious fond from the bottom of the pan. The liquid loosens the carmelized goodness. Use a flat sided spoon to scrape it all off.
  5. Add both tomato products and stir frequently to avoid burning.
  6. Simmer sauce until thick, add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Turn off heat, cook pasta according to directions.
  8. Add pasta to pan with sauce, toss and serve immediately with grated parmesean.
Clara Moore

Clara Moore is Head Chef and General Manager of Local Harvest Cafe in St. Louis, where they take eating seasonally and locally very literally. Born and raised in Missouri, she began cooking at age 17 and attended culinary school at Baltimore International College. She is still waiting for that Missouri olive oil.

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