Beef and Fennel Bolognese

Shared by the Pantry Seattle

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 yellow onion, large dice

2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

1 teaspoon fennel, ground with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle

6 ounces tomato paste

1 cup beef stock

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes Kosher salt, to taste Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic into a food processor, and pulse until finely minced.

Add enough oil to coat the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pot and heat oil on high. Add beef to the pot, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Keep cooking meat mixture until browned and cooked through.

Add the minced vegetable mixture, ground fennel, and red pepper flake to the pot and mix well. If there are any brown bits on bottom of the pot, scrape them off with the wooden spoon and mix in. Cook this mixture until the moisture from the vegetables has mostly evaporated. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes. The mixture will start to caramelize.

Add the beef stock, lemon juice, and the tomatoes. Simmer the Bolognese for 35-40 minutes. The mixture should be slightly thick when done cooking.

Taste for seasoning and serve!

NOTES: Serve on top of your favorite pasta, polenta, or risotto. Bolognese on its own freezes very well.