Best bolognese in 30 minutes

Whipping up a traditional Bolognese sauce can be a major commitment: It simmers for three to four hours allowing flavors to concentrate and meat to break down just enough to give it the ideal texture and taste. So if you want to make this heavenly meat sauce after work, you can generally expect to eat around midnight, right? Maybe not. Cooks Illustrated, the magazine known for testing recipes until perfected, has found a way to do it in a mere 30 minutes-by adding browned mushrooms, tomato paste and Parmesan cheese to boost the sauce's meaty flavors and by putting the ground beef in a food processor with a panade (bread and milk). And if you follow the 30-second plan for a better work week, you now have some serious found free-time. Not convinced it could be as good as the four-hour ordeal? Let's just say that this recipe was tested 30 times. I'm convinced.

Cook's Illustrated's simple Italian-style meat sauce
(makes about 6 cups)

Except for ground round (which tasters found spongy and bland), this recipe will work with most types of ground beef, as long as it is 85 percent lean. (Eighty percent lean beef will turn the sauce greasy; 90 percent will make it fibrous.) Use high-quality crushed tomatoes; our favorite brands are Tuttorosso, Muir Glen Organic, and Hunt's Organic. If using dried oregano, add the entire amount with the canned tomato liquid in step 2. The sauce makes enough for nearly 2 pounds of pasta. Leftover sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 days or frozen for 1 month.

4 ounces white mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed, and broken into rough pieces
1 large slice high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into quarters
2 tablespoons whole milk
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped fine (about 11/2 cups)
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained, ¼ cup liquid reserved
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)

1. Process mushrooms in food processor until finely chopped, about eight 1-second pulses, scraping down side of bowl as needed; transfer to medium bowl. Add bread, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to now-empty food processor and process until paste forms, about eight 1-second pulses. Add beef and pulse until mixture is well combined, about six 1-second pulses.
2. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are browned and dark bits form on pan bottom, 6 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic, pepper flakes, and tomato paste; cook until fragrant and tomato paste starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup reserved tomato liquid and 2 teaspoons fresh oregano (if using dried, add full amount), scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add meat mixture and cook, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon, until beef loses its raw color, 2 to 4 minutes, making sure that meat does not brown.
3. Stir in crushed and drained diced tomatoes and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low and gently simmer until sauce has thickened and flavors have blended, about 30 minutes. Stir in cheese and remaining teaspoon fresh oregano; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Visit Cooks Illustrated for more heavily tested and perfected favorites.

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