Quick Weeknight Beef Bolognese

Ingredients

• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 500 g ground beef (85–90% lean)
• 45 g tomato paste
• 5 g kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 g black pepper
• 1 g dried oregano (optional)
• 0.5 g red pepper flakes (optional)
• 240 ml dry red wine or beef stock
• 800 g crushed tomatoes
• 120 ml whole milk (or 60 ml heavy cream)
• 15 ml Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 15 ml balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 60 g Parmesan, finely grated, plus more to serve
• 320 g spaghetti, tagliatelle, or rigatoni
• Pasta water, as needed

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it until it tastes pleasantly salty.
2. Heat olive oil in a wide Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until softened and glossy, 5–6 minutes.
3. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, just until fragrant (don’t let it brown).
4. Add the ground beef and press it into an even layer. Let it sit undisturbed 2–3 minutes so it browns, then break it up and keep cooking until you have deep brown bits and no pink remains, 5–7 minutes. If there’s a lot of fat, spoon off some, leaving a few tablespoons for flavor.
5. Push the meat to the edges. Add tomato paste to the center and cook, stirring, until it darkens to a brick-red and smells toasty, 1–2 minutes.
6. Stir in salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Pour in wine (or stock) and scrape the bottom thoroughly; simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half and smells less boozy, 2–3 minutes.
7. Add crushed tomatoes and bring to a lively simmer. Lower heat to keep a steady, gentle bubble and cook 10 minutes. The sauce should look slightly thickened and darker, with fat starting to shimmer on top.
8. Stir in milk (and Worcestershire/balsamic if using) and simmer 3–5 minutes more. Taste and adjust salt.
9. While the sauce simmers, cook pasta until just shy of al dente.
10. Add pasta directly to the sauce with 120 ml pasta water. Toss over medium heat 1–2 minutes until the sauce clings and the pasta finishes cooking. Add more pasta water a splash at a time if it looks tight.
11. Turn off heat. Stir in butter and Parmesan until glossy.
12. Serve hot with extra Parmesan and black pepper.

Notes

Substitutions: Use beef stock instead of wine for a no-wine version. Use ground turkey or chicken, but add 15 ml extra olive oil for richness. Want it faster still? Skip the carrot/celery and use 200 g frozen soffritto mix; add it straight from frozen and cook until the water cooks off. Storage: Keeps 4 days refrigerated; sauce freezes well up to 3 months (freeze sauce alone for best texture).