Detailed Recipe for Penne Alla Bolognese at Home

For as long as I can remember, my mom’s favourite cuisine has been Italian and her favourite dish – Pasta!

Writing this recipe took me back to a very old sweet memory of my parents cooking Sunday dinner together. They began preparing mid-evening which went into almost dinner time. I remember my dad quip “The best bolognese is when we really cook down the meat.” Even amidst a power cut, they continued to cook under the candle-light.

Today, I relived those memories with my attempt at Penne all Bolognese 

Do try the recipe and enjoy it!

Ingredients

• Penne pasta 120g

Tomato sauce:

• Tomato roughly quartered 7-8
• Olive oil 2Tbsp
• Garlic whole halved 2
• Salt to taste
• Apple cider vinegar/ Balsamic vinegar/ White vinegar 1Tbsp
• Sugar 1tsp
• Red chilli flakes 1/2tsp
• Mixed herbs 1tsp

Mushrooms:

• Olive oil 1Tbsp
• Mushrooms sliced 200g

Bolognese Sauce:

• Olive oil 2Tbsp
• Onion chopped 1
• Garlic cloves chopped 3-4
• Mutton Keema 250g
• Fresh Basil leaves 50g
• Cheese grated 50g

Procedure

Pasta:

1. To 500ml water, add a pinch of salt and the pasta.
2. Boil for 5-8 minutes till pasta is al-dente. [Cook time depends on the pasta used].
3. Drain, keep aside. Retain the pasta water.

Tomato sauce: 

1. Line tomatoes on a baking tray. Add olive oil.
2. Wrap the halved garlic bulbs in aluminium foil and place with tomatoes.
3. Sprinkle salt.
4. Bake in oven at 180 C for 40-60 minutes or till well charred.
5. Cool the tomatoes, squeeze out the garlic flesh & blitz in the blender with vinegar & sugar.
6. Add red chilli flakes & herbs.

Mushrooms: 

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mushrooms & without stirring let them brown on one side.
2. Repeat same on other side till uniformly brown. Remove & keep aside.

Bolognese sauce: 

1. In the same pan, heat oil & sautee onion till translucent.
2. Add garlic and cook till raw smell goes.
3. Add mutton keema & let it cook. Break down the pieces with spoon.
4. As the keema becomes light pink, add the tomato sauce & cook till oil starts to separate.
5. Add the mushrooms & basil leaves.
6. Cook the keema for 30-40 mins till it gets a good brown color and oil leaves the sides.
7. Add some pasta water in between to keep it gooey.
8. Check for seasonings, salt.

Serve in a plate, with pasta and a generous helping of Bolognese sauce on top and sprinkled with cheese. Enjoy with garlic bread!

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