Bucatini is a thick spaghetti pasta with a hollow center. It gets filled with sauce and because of the hollow center, the pasta is chewier and more fun to eat. Blogger Koko at A Taste of Koko had bucatini in Rome last year and was obsessed with it. She was so happy when she found it in her local grocery store!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb ground beef chuck (80-percent lean)
- 12 ounces bucatini dry pasta
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- Unsalted butter
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- Salt
- Pepper
- Red pepper flakes
DIRECTIONS:
- Prep the chopped ingredients (you can do this the night before) – carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.
- In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped carrots, celery, onion, thyme, and garlic. Cook vegetables until they’re soft.
- Add beef chuck to the pot and break up the beef with a spoon. Cook meat and vegetables until the meat is browned.
- Season with salt and pepper and add in red pepper flakes (if desired).
- Add tomato paste and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with the diced tomatoes and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
- In another large pot, bring water to a boil and cook bucatini pasta until slightly al dente. Transfer cooked bucatini pasta to the Bolognese sauce. Add pasta water as necessary.
- Add a couple pats of unsalted butter to the pasta and toss.
- Plate bucatini bolognese and top with parmesan cheese, parsley, and more red pepper flakes (if desired).
ABOUT A TASTE OF KOKO
Jane (commonly known as Koko) is the blogger behind A Taste of Koko®, Austin’s top food and travel blog. A Taste of Koko features the hottest restaurants and weekend getaways. A Taste of Koko is the official restaurant expert for Visit Austin TX.
Jane has been a speaker at South by Southwest (SXSW), Texas Conference for Women, BlogHer, BlogHer Food, The Hustle 2X, University of Texas Austin, Google, and Whole Foods Global on entrepreneurship and social media. She also hosted the largest food crawl in Austin during SXSW 2014 with over 20,000 participants.
A Taste of Koko has been featured in O Magazine, InStyle Magazine, OWN TV Network, Austin American-Statesman, Austin Monthly, Austin Woman Magazine, KXAN, Travel Channel, The Everygirl, and more.
