Add to favorites

Plan Z Phase: This is a Z2 (ZReduction) recipe. I studied up on bolognese sauce. I never realized the real secret to an old-fashioned sauce was milk. I redesigned this recipe to incorporate cream and a nice touch with vinegar and broth to make a smooth sauce that will remind you of an old spaghetti house. Just no spaghetti. I don’t miss it. This sauce, by itself, is that good. Serve with a salad or follow my lead below using spinach.

Serving Size: Serves 5. Serving size, one cup. This is your veggies and meat for the most part. You can do a salad with 1/3 cup of veggies on the side if you want.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb of ground sirloin or beef that is 96% lean
• ½ cup of chopped white or yellow onion
• ½ cup of chopped celery
• 2 Tbl of tomato paste
• 2 tsp of chopped garlic (jar garlic will work)
• 1 cup of beef broth
• ¼ cup of red wine vinegar
• ½ cup of whipping cream
• 1 – 2 cups of crushed tomatoes (from the can will work just fine)  The amount you put in is just a matter of how red you like your sauce. I used a cup.
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• baby spinach (optional)

Instructions:

Spray a soup pot with olive oil spray. Heat pan and add the onion and celery. Cook on medium high until they are loose and begin to brown.  Stir often. Then add the beef. Break it up and keep it cooking until it browns. I leave some chunkier pieces because I want my Bolognese to be lumpy; especially because I am not eating pasta with it.

Make sure most of the pink is cooked out of the meat. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Stir. Then add the vinegar and beef broth. Cook down for about five minutes. A nice bubble will do it. Then turn down the heat to medium low. Add the cream and crushed tomatoes. Mix in.  Heat until the cream and tomatoes have blended in and all is hot. This might take about 10 minutes.

In the last 10 minutes if you want your sauce to have some zip, add a sprinkling of red pepper flakes to the sauce. That will kick it up a notch.

Serve in a bowl. You can put a healthy layer of spinach below instead of pasta to give it more interest and fiber.

This picture is garnished with fresh basil and a cherry tomato.

This reheats well and travels well too.

Cheers!

Enjoy!