I love a traditional Bolognese sauce, but truth be told I really love this version too. It tastes so good and it’s perfect for serving with pasta when your dinner guests don’t eat beef, pork or veal. Believe me, even if you don’t use the meat source you’re used to, it won’t feel like a sacrifice. This sauce is deliciously satisfying and it’s a great shout if you’re trying to avoid red meat.
Ground chicken or chicken mince is something that has only recently become available in my local grocery store, so if you can’t find it in your local shops it’s ok. Try turkey mince or even chicken sausage meat. Simply buy chicken sausages, slit the skins and peel them off, squeezing the flavourful meat out of the casings. Alternatively, if you have a Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment for your mixer you can mince chicken breasts and/or thighs yourself or a butcher will typically have chicken mince available.
One of the things I really love about a sauce like this is that depending on the size of your family, it’s likely to yield some leftovers. Since I only cook most of the time for two people I usually serve this for dinner and have enough leftovers to freeze two more dinners’ worth for another time. A leftover sauce like this comes in so handy sometimes when I’m busy or sick or just don’t have time to cook.
One of my favourite ways to serve this sauce is with Gemelli, Strozapreti or Fusilli – something in the short and twisty pasta family, however you can use this sauce with any pasta shape you like. It also works really well as a substitute sauce in other recipes like my American-style Cheesy Beef Lasagna which could just as easily be made with this chicken sauce as with the beef one specified. Let’s get started.
Ingredients
- 40g unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, very finely chopped
- 2 carrots, very finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, very finely chopped
- 500g chicken mince
- Sea salt flakes & freshly ground black pepper
- 300ml dry white wine
- 500g tomato passata
- 200ml whole milk
- 500ml chicken stock
Method
- In a large, heavy-based pot with a lid, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook gently until softened (about 10 minutes or so). If it starts to catch at all, just add a small swig of the white wine to the pot to deglaze the pan a little.
- Add the chicken mince along with some salt & pepper and break it up, using a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally along with the vegetables until it’s mostly browned and losing its raw look.
- Crank up the heat to medium-high and pour in the wine. Let it bubble and reduce until it’s looking thick and syrupy. It should reduce at least by half.
- When the wine is sufficiently reduced, pour in the passata, chicken stock and the milk. Stir to combine and bring to the boil.
- When the sauce is boiling, reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer for 2 hours, partially covered with the lid. Check it a few times during the cooking to stir it and make sure it’s not too dry. If for any reason it becomes too dry, add a little more stock or water. When it’s done it should be slightly more thickened and almost jammy in its consistency. If it’s too wet, simmer it a bit longer without the lid to cook the water off.
- Serve the sauce hot with the pasta shape of your choice and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (optional).
