'Tis the Season: Bowtie Bolognese
'Tis the Season: Bowtie Bolognese
Happy Holidays! Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and are enjoying the wonderful holiday season. Brighten up your holiday menu with this festive and colorful Bowtie Bolognese, our signature dish of the month! Also known as Farfalle, meaning "Butterflies" in Italian, this simple yet delightful pasta is light, irresistibly delicious, and comes packed with unbeatable flavor. The meat-based bolognese sauce made the perfect pairing for this versatile pasta and the resulting combination is guaranteed to add some festive cheer to your home this holiday season!
For this recipe, first bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Season the water generously with salt and a dash of vegetable oil, then pour in 1 whole packet of Farfalle pasta once the water comes to a boil. Stir the pasta and allow it to cook for about 10 minutes under medium-high heat. Once cooked, save 2 cups of pasta water and drain out the rest then sprinkle 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric powder over the bowtie pasta for a vibrant golden-yellow color and set aside.
Next, dice 1 whole red (purple 😉) onion, 2 cloves of garlic, and 4 small tomatoes. Also slice 1 large red bell pepper into small, thin strips then peel and slice 2 large carrots into large round slices cut on a bias as shown in the photo above. Place 1 lb. of lean ground beef in a large skillet under medium-high heat. Season the meat generously with 1 teaspoon each of smoked paprika, ground black pepper, ground cumin, and a dash of salt. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and let the meat cook down slowly until fully cooked, making sure to keep stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't coat the bottom of the skillet. Then, pour in the diced onions and tomatoes into the ground beef and allow this sauté for about 3 minutes before adding in the sliced red pepper and carrots. Let this blend and cook together under medium heat for about 5 minutes then pour in 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots. Season with another teaspoon of smoked paprika and salt to taste, and stir to ensure all ingredients blend well together.
Next, pour in 2 cups of pasta sauce into the base mixture and stir thoroughly to blend well. Add small amounts of the pasta water from time to time to keep building the sauce and ensure the ingredients don't coat the bottom of the pan. Let this simmer slowly under medium heat until you develop a relatively thick but fluid sauce with a smooth consistency. Season with some dried basil leaves and oregano before stirring in the cooked turmeric bowtie pasta into the meat and vegetable sauce. Mix thoroughly to blend together, sprinkle some dried or fresh parsley leaves for additional flavors and turn off the heat. Serve hot as a main dinner dish and be sure to savor every single bite. Enjoy! 😍😋💖💝
