Chicken Bolognese

We had a blustery, wet winter day in New York City earlier this week (like much of the country), so I did the only thing makes weather like that tolerable — I made a big pot of bolognese — only it's January and (in theory) we are trying to eat a little lighter so it was chicken bolognese.  

I love a recipe that can be thrown together, then just simmers away on the stove, letting the low heat and long cooking time do all of the work in making an utterly flavorful, delicious dish. I got home from the gym, browned the ground chicken, sauteed the onions, carrots, added in some dry white wine (I used my Kind of Wild chardonnay — it's zero sugar so it's bone dry), tomatoes, etc, set the stove to low, covered it, and went about my business.  The house smelled incredible, and we had a fabulous dinner.  

This recipe makes a little more than double what you need for one pound of pasta, so I recommend freezing half of it or saving it for leftovers later in the week.  

Chicken Bolognese

Easy 4-6 Servings 100 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken breast or a mix of dark and white ground chicken
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• One 6-ounce can tomato paste
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• Two (8-ounce or one 16-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound rigatoni
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Grated parmesan, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the chicken has browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the carrots and onions and cook until the vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, Italian seasoning and bay leaf and let the spices toast, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and let that toast and start to get brown on the bottom of the pot, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the white wine and simmer until the wine has been absorbed into the meat. Add the evaporated milk and cook, stirring constantly, until it has cooked down. Add the tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and ½ cup water. Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is nice and thick and hearty, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni to al dente according to package instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and toss the pasta with the sauce, adding reserved water to loosen the sauce if necessary. Garnish with the parsley and serve with grated parmesan.