RECIPE: RINO’S FETTUCCINE BOLOGNESE
Now if I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times, you can still enjoy pasta as part of a healthy balanced diet! Pasta and all other carbs do not need to be banished. They often do need to be reduced, by eating them less often and by reducing portion size, but that does not mean we need to get rid of them altogether. I have a beautiful bowl of pasta about once a week, guilt free!
Pasta is a family favourite in itself but no dish is as popular as the classic bolognese! Having had many a bolognese in my day, I was very surprised to find that Giulio’s dad, Rino, made his slightly different and it tasted fantastic.
Chef Rino and Diary of a Fit Bird!
I needed the recipe in my life and, of course, I would never leave you guys out! So here is Rino’s Fettuccine Bolognese. The key to this dish is that the sauce does not drown the pasta. It simply coats it and allows you to enjoy the pasta as much as the sauce. The recipe serves 6 so it can feed the whole family or is the perfect dish to do a couple of dinners!
Ingredients:
Prepped and ready to go!
Serves 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 90 minutes
Method:
1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pot and add the onion, celery and carrots. Over a medium heat allow the mixture to soften for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure that the mixture does not burn.
2. Once ready, set aside and in a separate pan we will prepare the meat.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in the pan over a high heat and add the steak. Keep the heat up high until the meat is brown all over.
4. Once browned, add in the red wine and let the alcohol burn off, normally 2-3 minutes.
5. Then, add the meat to the pot with the onions, carrots and celery.
6. Deglaze the pan to get all the juice from the meat and add it to the mixture.
I just learnt what deglaze means when this happened! Add a little water or wine to the pan stirring well to bring all the juices together. You can either use this as a base for a gravy or, as in this case, simply pour the juices into the mixture to maximise flavour.
7. Place the pot with the combined meat and vegetables over a medium heat, season with salt and add the bay leaves and tomato paste.
The mixture just before we added the bay leaves, tomato paste and water.
8. Add 150ml water to the mixture and bring it to the boil.
9. Leave to simmer slowly for 90 minutes. Over this time stir occasionally and add more water if you feel the mixture is getting too thick.
10. When the sauce is almost ready, bring a large pot of water to the boil and season well with salt.
11. Portion out the fettuccine and cook according to pack instructions. Please do not overcook the pasta, it will ruin the dish! Pasta should always be al dente!
12. Drain pasta, saving a little of the pasta water in a mug to help the sauce coat the pasta better.
13. Place the drained pasta back into the pot, add the knob of butter (about the size of a walnut), the pasta water and a third of the bolognese. Mix together well to lightly coat the pasta.
14. Finally, serve with a generous spoonful on top!
Buon appetito,
Fit Bird
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