Possible Cooking Methods: Stovetop Pressure Cooker Slow Cooker
Pasta with a Bolognese sauce is a classic recipe, but in this version the fennel seed adds a subtle twist. There are many ways to make a Bolognese sauce and you can use your stovetop, pressure cooker OR slow cooker. The stovetop and pressure cooker methods qualify as one-pot cooking because the pasta can cook right in the sauce. If you are using a slow cooker, however, just make the sauce in the cooker and serve it over cooked pasta. To add a little green vegetable to this one pot dish, you could add spinach or arugula to the sauce just before serving, or toss in a few broccoli florets near the end of the cooking time – just long enough for the broccoli to cook though and become tender. To simplify your shopping experience, buy the typical meatloaf mix of beef, pork and veal.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
4 sprigs fresh thyme
½ pound ground beef
½ pound ground pork
½ pound ground veal (or turkey)
1½ teaspoons salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup milk*
1 cup white wine (or red wine if you prefer)
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, diced
3 cups beef stock*
12 ounces dried penne pasta (about 4 cups)
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
*Quantity changes for alternate methods
Stovetop Directions
Serves:6
Cooking Time:3 hours
1. Pre-heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrots and celery until the vegetables start to soften – about 6 minutes. Stir in the fennel seeds and fresh thyme and cook for another minute or so. Add the meats to the Dutch oven and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Break the chunks up with a wooden spoon as you brown the meat until there is no pink left visible.
3. Pour in the milk and stir, scraping the bottom of the Dutch oven to incorporate any bits of flavor. Increase the heat a little and simmer until the milk has almost entirely disappeared – about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and continue to simmer until it too has almost disappeared – another 10 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer (with a lid askew) for at least 2 hours.
5. Thirty minutes before you are ready to serve, add the beef stock and the penne and return the mixture to a full simmer. Continue to simmer for another 25 minutes.
6. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with Parmesan cheese at the table.
Additional Cooking Directions for
Pressure Cooker Directions
Serves:6
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Change Ingredients: Omit the milk; add 2 tablespoons tomato paste; reduce stock to 2 cups
1. Pre-heat a 6-quart multi-function pressure cooker using the BROWN or SAUTE setting.
2. Add the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrots and celery until the vegetables start to soften – about 6 minutes. Stir in the fennel seeds and fresh thyme and cook for another minute or so. Add the meats to the cooker and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Break the chunks up with a wooden spoon as you brown the meat until there is no pink left visible.
3. Add the wine and stir, scraping the bottom of the cooker to incorporate any bits of flavor. Bring the mixture to a boil for 2 minutes. (If your multi-cooker doesn’t have a brown setting, use a Dutch oven on the stovetop for the steps above and transfer the contents to the cooker now.)
4. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and beef stock and stir in the pasta, doing your best to get the pasta covered with liquid. Cover and lock the lid in place.
5. Pressure cook on HIGH for 7 minutes.
6. Release the pressure with the QUICK-RELEASE method and carefully remove the lid.
7. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with Parmesan cheese at the table.
Slow Cooker Directions
Serves:6
Cooking Time:6 to 8 hours on LOW
Change Ingredients: Omit the milk; add 2 tablespoons tomato paste; reduce stock to 1 cup; serve over cooked pasta
1. Pre-heat a 6-quart multi-function slow cooker using the BROWN or SAUTE setting.
2. Add the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrots and celery until the vegetables start to soften – about 6 minutes. Stir in the fennel seeds and fresh thyme and cook for another minute or so. Add the meats to the cooker and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Break the chunks up with a wooden spoon as you brown the meat until there is no pink left visible.
3. Add the wine and stir, scraping the bottom of the cooker to incorporate any bits of flavor. Bring the mixture to a boil for 2 minutes. (If your multi-cooker doesn’t have a brown setting, use a Dutch oven on the stovetop for the steps above and transfer the contents to the cooker now.)
4. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and beef stock and stir. Cover and slow cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours (or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH).
5. Season to taste with salt and feshly ground black pepper and serve over cooked pasta with Parmesan cheese at the table.