PASTA WITH QUICK BOLOGNESE

Makes:

6 -8 servings

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ yellow onion, diced

¼ cup chopped cutting celery 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1 pound 80/20 ground beef ½ pound sweet Italian sausage 2 garlic cloves minced

Salt and pepper Red-pepper flakes

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1 . Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

2 . Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Add onion, celery and carrot and cook for 1 minute.

3. Add beef and sausage, and cook, breaking it up with a fork or spoon, until it is no longer pink, about 5 -6 minutes.

4. Add garlic to pot and season generously with salt and pepper. If you like, add a pinch of two of red-pepper flakes, and stir to combine.

5 . Stir in cherry tomatoes, tomato paste and red wine. Cook on medium heat until tomatoes break down and the 1 or 2 tablespoons tomato paste

¼ cup dry red wine

1 pound pasta

Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving Chopped parsley or basil, for garnish

sauce starts to thicken, about 1 5 -2 0 minutes. (I use a potato masher to help the tomatoes along.)

6 . Meanwhile, add pasta to boiling water and cook until tender but still firm. Drain pasta, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water for thinning the sauce.

7 . Taste bolognese and season with additional salt, pepper or red-pepper flakes, if necessary. Thin with reserved pasta water if it’s too thick.

8 . Serve pasta sauce on top of cooked pasta, garnished with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley or basil.