Ina Garten has always been my go-to for pasta. I’ve tried so many of her recipes that I’ve even ranked them.
One of my all-time favorites is her weeknight Bolognese, which can easily be adapted with whatever’s in your fridge or pantry.
The rich and comforting dish was exactly what I needed after a long workday. Better yet? It only took 30 minutes.
Garten’s weeknight Bolognese includes orecchiette, ground sirloin, and dry red wine.
To make Garten’s weeknight Bolognese for 4-5 people, you’ll need:
- 1 pound of dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells
- 1 pound of lean ground sirloin
- 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 ¼ cups of dry red wine, divided
- ¼ cup of heavy cream
- ¼ cup of chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
- 4 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
When it comes to the canned tomatoes, Garten strongly recommends using the San Marzano variety. The “Barefoot Contessa” star is not a fan of plain canned tomatoes. But Garten does allow for other adjustments — this recipe is meant to be pantry-friendly!
You can substitute the sirloin for any ground meat or chopped mushrooms. Garten says it’s also fine to “use any dried pasta that you like” for this dish, and that it’s OK to skip the cream and basil if you don’t have any on hand.
Before I started making the Bolognese sauce, I needed to do a little prep.
I minced my garlic and chopped my basil.
Then I began cooking the ground sirloin.
I heated 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and added my meat.
I used a wooden spoon to crumble the meat, stirring it occasionally. Garten’s recipe recommends cooking the meat for five to seven minutes, until it’s no longer pink.
After the meat had fully browned, I added my seasonings.
I threw in my minced garlic, along with the dried oregano and red pepper flakes.
It was time for some wine!
I let the meat cook for one minute, then I poured a cup of red wine into the skillet. Garten’s recipe specifies using a dry red wine, so I went with a pinot noir.
After pouring the wine, I used my wooden spoon to stir everything together.
Then I added my San Marzano tomatoes and tomato paste.
I couldn’t find crushed San Marzano tomatoes at my local supermarket, so I had to get peeled ones instead. I ran the tomatoes through a food processor before I threw them into the pan, but you could easily use your hands to crush them up.
After adding the tomato paste, I seasoned everything with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I gave everything a good stir, then brought my sauce to a boil.
Once it began to bubble, I lowered the heat and allowed the pan to simmer for 10 minutes while I got a separate pot of water going for my pasta. (Don’t forget to add salt!)
As the noodles cooked, I put the finishing touches on my sauce.
I added fresh basil leaves, along with nutmeg and heavy cream.
The sauce smelled delicious and had turned into a comforting, deep-red color.
And after 10 minutes, my pasta was al dente and ready to go.
I transferred the pasta shells to my sauce using a slotted spoon.
Per Garten’s instructions, I made sure to save the pasta water.
I added another ¼ cup of the red wine and a few spoonfuls of my pasta water to the pan.
Dinner was almost served!
Garten’s pasta looked glorious — and it tasted great too.
The “Barefoot Contessa” star has a knack for giving classic recipes a new twist, and her weeknight Bolognese is no exception.
The pasta shells are the perfect vehicle for her sauce, delivering its rich and delicious flavor with every bite. The nutmeg in the Bolognese nicely balances the kick from the red pepper flakes, and the freshly grated Parmesan cheese I added on top melted beautifully into the warm sauce.
My family, who helped me test the recipe, only had rave reviews.
“It’s a very meaty, very hearty pasta,” my dad said. “Perfect.”
“I really enjoy how the pasta holds onto the sauce,” my sister added. “With every spoonful, you get a good amount of meat and a good amount of pasta.”
I’ll definitely be adding Garten’s weeknight Bolognese (along with her five-cheese penne pasta) to my comfort-food repertoire.
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