Big Batch Bolognese Recipes

Steps:

• You know you love it and you know you make it your own special way if you've ever made it before. Here is my take on the classic, if only to be used as a helpful reminder to make-ahead a batch especially in the winter months.;
• Warm 2 cups milk in small pot over lowest heat.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until lightly brown. Then add the chicken livers, and cook almost through. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves, and cook until tender, 10 minutes.
• Add the ground meat and cook through breaking into pieces, but do not brown. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, clove, and stir in the wine and allow it to cook into the meat, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the warm milk to the meat and allow it to absorb into the meat for 1 minute. Stir in the beef stock, vegetable stock, and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Divide the sauce in 1/2, cool, and freeze one batch. Cool and store the remainder for a make-ahead meal within the week. Alternately, cook pasta to al dente, thin the sauce a bit with a bit of starchy pasta water and toss with pasta dressed with butter to combine. Top with grated cheese and chopped celery leaves. Serve with green salad.

Steps:

• Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over med-high heat.
• Add onion, carrot, celery, tomato paste, garlic, and thyme and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8-10 minutes.
• Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.
• Stir tomatoes in slow cooker.
• Mash bread and heavy cream into paste in large bowl using fork.
• Mix in meatloaf mix, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper using hands.
• Stir meatloaf mixture into slow cooker, breaking up any large pieces.
• Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9-11 hours on LOW or 5-7 hours on HIGH.
• Let sauce settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon.
• Break up any remaining large pieces of meat with spoon.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Makes enough sauce for 3 lb. pasta.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the bacon and mince in batches until browned. Add to your slow cooker.
• Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato purée, herbs, wine (if using), vinegar, sugar and seasoning to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours, then uncover, turn to High and cook for another hour until thick and saucy.
• Serve with cooked spaghetti and grated or shaved parmesan. To cook this entire recipe on the hob, check out our big-batch Bolognese recipe.