This classic Italian version of Bolognese sauce is made with freshly ground pork which offers a milder flavour and the freshness of crushed Roma tomatoes and the traditional ingredients is one to include in your recipes. It’s one that the whole family will love.
When I know I am making a sauce for a particular dish, I will make my sauce a day ahead. This allows the ingredients to really marry and come together with each other and the flavours are incredible. If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it and you will see for yourself the difference. The question needs to be asked, do you enjoy leftover spaghetti the day after you make it? I know I do, and next time, really pay attention to the differences.
When cooking this sauce at a slow simmer will allow the flavours to marry and create a very tasty dish. It can be made 45 minutes and why not double the recipe for leftovers. Who doesn’t like leftovers?
Recipe Ingredients:
Olive oil: always start with a good quality evoo
Starters: onion, celery, carrots and garlic are all a great base for this dish
Pork: I like to use butcher shop quality ground pork that is hormone and antibiotic free; if you don’t have access to a good butcher or you are in a time crunch, grocery store is always an option
Crunch tomatoes: these tomatoes save you time since they are broken down and ready to start your sauce
Tomato paste: provides some thickness to the sauce
Herbs: oregano and basil are must, and if you have fresh, you can double up the amount, when I have fresh herbs I tend to add extra as I love the fresh flavours
Seasonings: salt and pepper
Pasta: the rigatoni noodles were perfect for this dish, the grooves all the sauce to adhere to the pasta
Garnish: with Parmesan cheese and parsley
When making this dish:
This sauce recipe is super easy to make and cooked in one-pan. Simply add your starters, and sauté until tender, and then add your pork and once cooked with no pink visible, then add your crunched tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and seasonings.
Keep in mind the longer this sauce simmers, the thicker it becomes and more flavourful it will be. This dish perfect for any day of the week, and double the recipe for leftovers!
FAQ
Can I use diced or whole tomatoes for this recipe? Yes you can, and I recommend crunching the tomatoes using a blender or food processor and if you don’t have either, then a masher would work too before adding it to the skillet. Keep in mind, it will require additional cooking to get the thickness you want.
Can I substitute the rigatoni for another pasta? You can, but keep in mind a pasta that will adhere to the sauce so the flavours really work into the pasta, such as penne.
Pork Bolognese Rigatoni
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp pure extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 1 carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. hormone/antibiotic free ground pork
- 1-28 oz can organic crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp organic tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano (can substitute 1 sprig of fresh oregano)
- 1 tsp dried basil (can substitute 1 sprig of fresh basil)
- 11/2 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 8 oz rigatoni pasta
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet, add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Add ground pork to the skillet, using a spoon, break the meat apart. Cook the pork until there is no pink visible, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried oregano and basil, salt, black pepper and pepper flakes is you desire. Simmer for 45 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken and flavours to blend.
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a medium to large sauce pot of water to a boil, add ½ tsp of salt then add the pasta. Cook until al dente and drain.
- Once the sauce has thicken, stir in half of the parsley and check the flavour. Adjust the seasoning at this time if needed.
- Garnish with Parmesan cheese and the remaining chopped parsley.
Nutrition
How to make this recipe:
This dish is not complicated in any way. Once the onions, celery, carrots and garlic have been sautéed then cook the ground pork until there is no pink visible. Then at that point, add your crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and seasonings. I am not a person who likes spicy food, but adding a pinch of red pepper flakes really elevates this dish.
As you can see, allowing the sauce to slowly simmer will create a rich thickness that this recipe requires. If you didn’t have crushed tomatoes on hand, you can always substitute with diced or whole tomatoes, but I would recommended to use a food processor or crush with a masher. It may take another 20 minutes to simmer to arrive at the thickness we all so desire.
I used rigatoni pasta for this recipe rather then spaghetti, as I find the rigatoni holds the sauce and flavours so well. Garnish this dish with parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy with a nice glass of wine. 🙂
