Weeknight pasta bolognese recipe

Making Bolognese is often an all-day affair, but its depth and richness can’t be beat. We wanted a quicker, weeknight-friendly version that wouldn’t sacrifice flavor. Our first move was to use our Dutch oven to deeply brown the aromatics and some pancetta (but not the ground beef, which would dry out and toughen if seared) to develop a flavorful fond; we also treated the ground beef with a baking soda solution to ensure that it stayed tender. Tomato paste and red wine added brightness. Some grated Parmesan thickened the sauce and offered savory depth. To save on dishes, we found that we could cook the pasta right in the pot by thinning out the sauce and stirring in the dried pappardelle. The pasta absorbed the flavorful liquid, and the sauce ended up with just the right noodle-coating consistency. Do not substitute fresh pappardelle here; it is too delicate and will break apart. You can substitute 1 pound dried fettuccine for the pappardelle, if desired; break the pasta in half before adding it to the pot and increase the cooking time to 16 to 18 minutes in step 5.