Weeknight Bolognese

This recipe, from Ina Garten's How Easy is That? cookbook, is a great take on a classic pasta meat sauce.  Owing to the red wine, it is reminiscent of beef bourguignon, but can be prepared in a fraction of the time and effort.  I prepared this after coming home from the office on a Monday evening; it was about thirty minutes from start to table.

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil, plus extra to cook the pasta
• 1 pound lean ground sirloin
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/4 cups dry red wine, divided
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 pound dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Over medium-high heat in a large skillet, heat up the oil and cook the sirloin.  I specifically used a stainless steel (not non-stick), since the oil and fat in the meat would grease the pan.  Break it up as it cooks, until the pink color is gone and the meat has started to brown.  On our stove, this took about 5 minutes.

Stir in the oregano, red pepper flakes, and garlic, and cook for just one minute more.  This heats the garlic but doesn't give it time to burn--next add 1 cup of wine, and stir to mix it in and also scrape off any brown beef from the bottom of the pan.  Next, add in:

• Crushed tomatoes
• Tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper

Stir them in, bring the entire mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for ten more minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, and cook the pasta as directed on the package.

As the pasta cooks, we have time to thicken the sauce.  Add:

• Nutmeg
• Basil
• Cream
• 1/4 cup wine

Stir this together, and simmer for an additional ten minutes (conveniently, exactly how long our pasta needed to cook).  The sauce thickened nicely by about eight minutes, and was ready to serve after ten.  Drain the pasta and place it in the serving bowl; add the sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan (I used Romano) cheese and toss to combine.  Enjoy!!  I recommend pairing with a good crusty French loaf, and Cabernet Sauvignon.