Everyone needs a quick easy spaghetti sauce to prepare quick mid-week meals on the go, and today recipe is mine!
this bolognese sauce is rich, thick and has an incredible depth in flavors thanks to few tweaks and adding , I allowed myself to play with.
cook a big batch at once and store it in the freezer to use whenever you need in no time!
it is perfect over some spaghetti or any type of pasta you like. you can make a quick lasagna also or stuff some baked potatoes or even to make some pies , there are many options to use this delicious sauce.
it is very similar to a traditional Italian bolognese sauce but there is a few little things that might be different from all the sauces recipes you have seen arround:
- I used a mix of pomegranate molasses with some grape vinegar and water to add a little bit of acidity and fruity tanginess to this sauce.
- I used beef broth or sometimes a bouillon cube to compensate that depth of flavors that comes from slow cooking this sauce for hours and from adding the pancetta .
- other than the Lebanese pomegranate molasses, I added some wild Lebanese dry zaatar. honestly i can’t help it whenever i am doing red sauce base , I like the herbal nutty taste that adds to the mixture, try it out you won’t regret it.
- and the last touch I added , is deeply roasted eggplant. It adds a sweet mild smoky taste to this sauce that is an amazing plus.
if you tried this recipe don’t forget to send me those pictures and tag me on #annacookingconcept
Lebanese style bolognese sauce
This hearty warm sauce is made using all the traditional ingredients but with a Lebanese twist to it. Easy to find ingredients and very simple steps to make a big batch of this rich Italian sauce and store for an easy weekday lunch.
Ingredients
- 1 big eggplant and few rosemary sprigs
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. grass fed clean butter
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 750 g ground lean beef
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp.of each : sweet pepper, cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp. sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 sticks celery finely chopped
- ½ cup carrot finely chopped
- ½ cup green capsicum finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup water mixed with ¼ cup pomegranate molasses and 2 tbsp. grape vinegar. see notes
- 500 g strained tomato or tomato puree
- 1 cup organic cow milk see notes
- 1 cup vegetable or beef stock see notes
- 1 tbsp. dry grounded zaatar different than thyme see notes
Instructions
Eggplant roasting: see notes
- Start with roasting the eggplant while we cook the sauce alongside: cut the eggplant in half and score the flesh deeply with the tip of a sharp knife in a cross-hatch pattern, but without cutting all the way through the skin.
- Press on the edges of the halves to open the cuts and sprinkle salt all over the surface and into the cuts of the flesh.
- Let the eggplant sit cut side up for around 30 minutes so the salt draws out the water. Meanwhile we can start preparing our veggies for the sauce. Cut and prepare all the veggies we need and set aside. Mix the water with the pomegranate molasses and the grape vinegar and set aside.
- Once the 30 minutes pass, gently squeeze the eggplant to remove the water from eggplant as much as you can, pat the eggplant dry with paper towel.
- Turn on the broiler in the oven.
- Brush the eggplant generously with some olive oil, lay a parchment paper in a baking tray and lay some fresh or fry rosemary sprigs. Set the eggplant cut side down on top of the rosemary sprigs.
- And let the eggplant roast under the broiler for 15 minute. Turn off the broiler and let it rest for 20 min in the oven before handling. After that you can scoop out the perfectly roasted caramelized flesh and chop roughly to use in the sauce.
For the sauce:
- While the eggplant is roasting and cooling we can start our sauce.
- In a large deep skillet, add the oil and butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted add the onions and cook for couple of minutes until the onion start to turn transparent and become tender.
- Add the minced beef and cook breaking up the meat into small pieces while cooking until it have a light brown color and no more pink color in it.
- Add all your seasonings and mix well until everything is coated with the seasonings.
- Add the tomato paste and mix it through till you smell the tomato
- Now add the remaining chopped veggies (celery, capsicum, carrots) and mix it through and cook for 5 minutes until the veggies start to tenderize.
- Add the garlic and mix through till you smell the garlic for around 2 minutes.
- Give the water/pomegranate molasses/ grape vinegar mixture a stir and pour in the skillet. Allow to cook and reduce slightly for about 3 minutes.
- Add the roasted chopped eggplant flesh we prepared and mix through.
- Add the tomato puree, milk and stock and mix very well.
- Bring the whole mixture to boil, taste for salt and more seasoning if needed and add the dry zaatar and mix.
- Partially cover and Simmer for around 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
- If you find the liquid is not reducing: remove the lid completely and make sure the sauce is bubbling.
- Simmer until the liquid evaporated by 75% don’t dry it out completely because the pasta later on with soak some of the liquid also, to keep it juicy and when it get cold it will thicken so leave it a little bit juicy better .
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Roasted eggplant: I always use the broiling method to roast eggplant because it is fast and easy with no mess. This simply roasted eggplant is perfect for making Baba Ghanouj, eggplant Lebanese salad سلطة الراهب; Moutabal dip and many others.
- This sauce freeze very well: I usually make a big batch of this sauce like in the recipe above, I use what I need and freeze the rest to use later on. Just cool the sauce very well over night in the fridge. And add the cooled sauce to freezer safe container with good lid and seal well. You can keep it frozen up to 3 months. To defrost just let it defrost overnight in the fridge. I use this sauce not only with spaghetti with many different shapes of pasta and I use it in making the most delicious lasagna.
- I always add this pomegranate molasses, grape vinegar and water mixture to add an acidity fruity flavor to the mix but if you don’t mind some alcohol in your cooking you can replace it with a cup of white or red dry wine. – You can use any kind of milk of your choice, I usually use a lactose free organic cow milk but you can use any milk of preference.
- If you don’t have stock you can mix 1 bouillon cube with some warm water, or simply one cup water. But the bouillon or stock add a lot more flavor.
- For the zaatar mixture: the zaatar we are talking about is different than thyme, it is the wild zaatar dried, usually mixed with salt, sesame seeds, dry mint and sumac and used in the Lebanese cuisine But in this recipe we are going to use only the dry wild zaatar without the other mixed ingredients.