Summer Pasta with Bolognese Sauce
End of Summer Pasta with Bolognese Sauce–ground beef, cremini mushrooms, and white wine sauce–tingles the taste buds, perfect for summer entertaining!
I love the first ingredient in this recipe. One pound of pasta. To me that says, let’s invite someone over! And this Summer Pasta with Bolognese Sauce recipe is a great place to start. (You may also like this Summer Avocado Pasta Salad or this fabulous Greek Pasta Salad recipe!)
Friends, I say for the last month of summer, let’s be generous with our time and table (we all have a table, right?) and let’s invite some new people into our homes!
What is bolognese sauce?
Bolognese sauce originated from Bologna, Italy, and is a meat-based sauce served with your favorite pasta. Mix it with pasta? SO good.
Pasta says “comfort” and is inexpensive, and you can make some delicious meals.
How to make bolognese sauce
Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and cook the cremini mushrooms.
Add all the other wonderful ingredients: Grated carrot, garlic, oregano, tarragon, beef, chili, salt, and pepper.spices (mm-m-m … the rich flavors!)
Then add tomato paste, and sugar (you won’t believe how 1 tablespoon of sugar makes the difference).
White wine tops it off, simmered to perfection. I could just eat the sauce with no pasta! HA.
Summer Pasta with Bolognese Sauce
Cook the pasta al dente. This is the secret to a good bolognese recipe. And a good pasta is everything!
Play around with summer ingredients, like fresh herbs, tomatoes, kalamata olives, and lemon zest.
And don’t forget the fresh grated parmesan cheese! SO GOOD!
Why be generous
Generosity is not just about giving money away to worthy causes. That’s meaningful and important (sponsoring a child, contributing to a non-profit, etc:), but we can also be generous with our time.
I wrote about it a few years ago–we need people who give generously with their treasure and their time.
Hospitality can be a scary word, which makes so many of us reluctant to do anything with it. I truly believe we are all called to hospitality, in some way. A great place to start: our connections.
Connecting people, introducing people, feeding people, loving people.
It looks different to each person. Some may be giving to people they do not know, others might be building the courage to actually make an invite, others may be gathering all of their family together. I’ve learned not to judge what “reaching out” means to others.
We’re all living in different situations.
But in some way, somehow, we have to take our eyes off of ourselves and put them onto others.
Why host in summer
The last month of summer is a great time to start.
1. Eat outside. You don’t have to clean your house!
2. Make one big pot of Summer Bolognese Pasta.
3. Ask your guests to bring either a salad or a dessert.
4. Grab a baguette from the local farmer’s market or store.
5. Open a bottle of wine.
You have the best summer party ingredients right there! ENJOY!
Get the Recipe:
Summer Pasta with Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti, we use Delallo Foods brand
- 4 cups sliced cremini mushroom
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp garlic
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1/2 Tbsp oregano
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp fresh tarragon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Kalamata olives
- 2 cups sliced cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh basil
- Lemon zest
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add in about 1/4 c of salt, then add in the pasta. When the water comes back up to a boil, begin the timer for about 7 minutes—this will cook the pasta al dente. Remove from heat, drain noodles, then place back in pot with a cover to keep warm—do not add oil.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Heat oil on medium, then, when oil is hot, add in the mushrooms. Allow mushrooms to brown for about 4-5 minutes, then add in the grated carrot, garlic, oregano, tarragon, beef, chili, salt, and pepper. Brown the beef for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add in tomato paste, and sugar. Stir until paste is evenly dispersed, then add in the pasta, wine, vinegar, and lemon juice. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Mix beef and pasta together and serve warm, garnished with kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme, and lemon zest. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese!
More pasta one-pot meals: One Pot Sausage Spaghettini Dinner [RE], One Pot Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup [Mom on Timeout], One Pot Beef Stroganoff Soup [Belly Full], and One Pot Lasagna Pasta [The Little Kitchen].
Sounds super yummy!